For the 13th year in a row, middle and high school-age youth from Hands4Hope – Youth Making A Difference are leading a school supply drive to collect essential school supplies for local students in need. Donations will be accepted during July at locations in our community from Folsom to Placerville, with the annual Stuff the Bus event taking place July 17 at El Dorado Hills Town Center. The goal is to help students start the school year with the supplies they need to succeed.
The school supplies collected during this drive are essential in helping offset back-to-school costs for local families experiencing financial struggles. More than 700 students in need from grades TK through 12th are expected to “shop” for free during the distribution event in early August. Donations needed include calculators, dry erase markers, erasers, glue bottles, graph paper, headphones, highlighters, index cards, and lunchboxes.
Margaret Lewis, the McKinney-Vento Services Coordinator for El Dorado County Office of Education, explained: “Last school year, at least 792 children in Kindergarten through 12th grade identified as being in housing transition while attending El Dorado County schools. These children, and many others who are in families living too close to the Federal poverty line, may go without items they need at the start of school.
By providing access to these supplies for free through the Hands4Hope distribution event, their families can then redirect their resources toward other opportunities or needs. The ability for students to choose their own supplies in colors, shapes, and characters that are fun and interesting to them provides a level of excitement and opportunity that sets them up to view the beginning of the school year with confidence and readiness, which we hope will carry them through a positive year ahead!”
Ashna Vaikunthan, a junior at Vista del Lago High School and School Supply Drive Project Manager, says, “I returned my second year to the School Supply Drive Committee because I’ve grown my passion for helping others so much through this opportunity. I love seeing people smile and bring other people the ability to have all the school supplies to be successful in school.”
First-time committee participants, Caitlyn Pham and Natalie Woodcock, both sophomores at Oak Ridge High School, said they feel grateful to be part of an effort that directly supports local students and families and that, through their involvement, they have truly found purpose in serving others.
School supply donations are being collected through Friday, July 17, and may be dropped in the blue Hands4Hope collection barrels located in Folsom (Horn Fulton, Inc. CPAs, Prime Real Estate, Regency at Folsom Ranch), El Dorado Hills (Lyons Orthodontics, El Dorado Hills Library), Cameron Park (Faith Episcopal Church), Shingle Springs (Snap Fitness), and Placerville (Robinson’s Pharmacy, Cold Springs Church, Placerville Library, and Thompson Toyota). Additional partners have already completed drives or are hosting in-house drives.
Donations can also be brought to the exciting “Stuff the Bus” event on Friday, July 17, at El Dorado Hills Town Center, near Target, where a big yellow school bus from El Dorado County Office of Education will stand at the ready to receive and transport supply donations.
Hands4Hope also offers supporters the option of sponsoring a student through a direct financial gift or shopping an Amazon wish list that will deliver directly to Hands4Hope.
Details about donation drop-off locations, a list of items needed, and an Amazon wish list can all be found on the Hands4Hope website at www.Hands4HopeYouth.org/schoolsupplydrive.
The Hands4Hope – Youth Making A Difference School Supply Drive Committee is youth-led with the help of adult mentors. The committee’s goal is to ensure that all students have what they need to be successful in the 2026-27 school year.
The committee develops advertising, markets for, and hosts the School Supply Drive, and oversees the School Supply Distribution event and distribution of remaining items. Committee participants collect and distribute all donated supplies in partnership with Placerville Union School District and El Dorado County Office of Education. Additional youth and adult volunteers are invited to join this effort by participating in the “Stuff the Bus” event on July 17, in various donation sorting and preparation events, and in the distribution event on August 4.
Hands4Hope – Youth Making A Difference is a youth-driven El Dorado County nonprofit that empowers young people through service-learning to become compassionate, civic-minded leaders. By creating and leading their own projects, Hands4Hope youth gain real-world skills while making a lasting impact in their communities.
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