The 2024 Blast Back to School will be our 10th Annual Supply Donation Event! Thanks to the generosity of the Story County community, we have been able to continue this volunteer-run program for the last decade, and we are so appreciative of everyone’s continued support. Thank you!
We are excited to announce that this is also different than past years because we have talked with the Ames PD National Night Out Hope In Christ Back 2 School Celebration Event and have agreed to take on acquiring more backpacks for their participants so that they can concentrate on providing shoes and socks for our Story County students in need! We are now able to consolidate where funds and efforts go to provide more assistance to our Story County families. Our goal this year is to fill 1,500 backpacks with needed school supplies. As of right now, we have +1,200 students already registered and we are predicting to have about 300 more sign up between the National Night Out registration booth and walk-ups at the various school pick-up dates.
Families spend $100+ per child to purchase necessary school supplies today. Last year we handed out school supplies to over 1,200 kids through Story County Blast Back to School events! The need this year is expected to be even greater with increasing prices and the continuing financial hardship families are facing. We need your help! Would you consider contributing to the 2024 Blast Back to School Supply Donation Events for Story County? If so, please visit the Blast Back to School website, www.blastbacktoschool.org, to make monetary and/or supply donations.
Building on the success of past years, we are holding a combined county wide supply drive effort with localized distribution sites to be held during August in collaboration with Story County school districts. We have partnered with the local schools to get the number of critical supplies that will be needed in 2024. As we work toward August, the one thing we know for sure is that we still need Back to School Heroes like you to help!
Thanks to the United Way of Story County being our fiscal agent, we can accept donations all year. For our 2024 event, we are asking that donations be sent in by August 6 so that we have time to spend the money for this year’s program.
Blast Back to School in Nevada will be held Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 4-5:30 p.m. at Central Elementary School. Also being held that day is a Back to School Wellness event, from 3-6 p.m. at Central Elementary, where families can learn about a variety of health resources for their children.
Ways you can partner with us include:
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Make a tax-deductible donation by writing a check to our fiscal agent: United Way of Story County, 315 Clark Ave, Ames, IA 50010, with Blast Back to School in the memo line. Online donations are also accepted at: https://www.uwstory.org/
civicrm/contribute/transact? reset=1&id=1. Be sure to indicate your donation is for Blast Back to School after selecting ‘Other’ in the Special Initiative drop-down. -
Volunteer to help pack backpacks and/or help at school distribution sites.
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Donate school supplies at one of the collection sites on our website: www.blastbacktoschool.org.
We have several levels of support:
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Classroom level: $2500+: Will support an entire classroom of students!!!
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Friends level: $1000 – $2499: Will support 10+ students
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Family Level: $200 – $999 Will Support 1-3 Story County Families
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Student level: $100 – $199 will support 1 student
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Booster level: $1 – $99 will help purchase supplies
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Partnering with us will make a huge difference in the lives of students and their families in our county. Do not hesitate to contact us at blastbacktoschool@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Your partner in the community,
The 2024 Blast Back to School Planning Committee:
Ames Community School District: Amber Franzeen, Anna Fagervik
Ballard Community School District: Erin Denker
Boys and Girls Club of Story County: Becky Lundy
Collins-Maxwell Community School District: Shane Arp and Lori Fricke
Community volunteers: Kate Hanson and Jerri Baumeister
Cornerstone Church and BecomeMore Group: Jenn Peterson
Nevada Community School District: Jodi Heeren
Nevada Public Library: Brittany Dueker
United Way of Story County: Anneke Mundel
