During the months of July and August, the New Bern Civitan Club will be collecting certain school supplies for the Craven County Pre-K and Family Literacy Program. These children do not receive any support from the District’s “Stuff the Bus” initiative as that is a K-12 program, not pre-K.
Those enrolled in the Craven County Pre-School and Family Literacy Program (the children we see at Santa Land) must qualify for the program by being physically or mentally disabled or delayed development, limited in English proficiency and economically disadvantaged. We will be assisting these children and families by collecting the following at our July 27th and August 11th meetings.
Spiral notebooks for the adults in the Family Literacy part of this program. They are in stores now and some are as low as thirty-five cents each at Walmart, Staples, Rose’s, and others.
Folders with pockets for the children to keep their work in or for notes to go home to parents. Walmart had them for twenty cents each last year.
Children’s book bags in sizes 14 to 15 inches for 3- to 5-year-olds. No need to buy any fancy bags with Disney or other designer brand names – they become expensive. We have found a place online where we can order 24 backpacks in bulk and the backpacks will then cost about $3.00. Most store backpacks are $5.00 or more. If you would like to contribute money toward this purchase, you may make a check out to New Bern Civitan Club for whatever amount you want and give it to either Judy Lopez, Maureen Comer, Van Rice, or any New Bern Civitan member indicating what you want it to purchase. Or you may buy your own and bring it to one of our meetings. If you cannot make a meeting, Judy Lopez or Maureen Comer will plan to pick it up from you.
Lap Blankets or Beach Towels for the children’s nap times. After lunch, the children lay on floor mats and are covered by these donations. Each child has his/her own for sanitary reasons. We have recently seen lap blankets in Rose’s for $2.99 each. If you go on Wednesday, Seniors get 10% off. Sadly, many of the children’s families in this program cannot even afford that.
As always, if you do not want to shop, Judy Lopez (jlothejudge@gmail.com) or Maureen Comer (maureencomer0720@gmail.com) will shop for you with your donation. If you have items or money to donate, contact either one and they can plan to come to your house or meet you to collect your items.
Thank you for your generosity.