The start of a new school year should be full of excitement for students as they embark on the next level of their education. However, without the proper tools and supplies, many students and schools will be ill-equipped to start the year off right.

Arizona’s students deserve to start each school year with everything they need to be successful. That is why my office partners with the Salvation Army to coordinate the Pack to School supply drive, which is happening right now.

Last year’s drive was the most successful to date, benefiting around 10,000 students. State employees, sponsor organizations such as American Express, and community members donated more than 300,000 school supplies and nearly 3,500 backpacks.

This year, our goal is to significantly increase those numbers. We hope to provide over 23,000 students with donated school supplies and backpacks.

I invite everyone to join the thousands of state employees and sponsor organizations who will be collecting school supplies as part of this campaign. You can drop off donations at the Salvation Army or at the locations of any of the drive’s sponsors. There’s also a box at the State Capitol Executive Tower lobby.

Items needed include:

n     no. 2 pencils and erasers

n     nontoxic paints

n     spiral notebooks, portfolio binders and loose-leaf paper

n     activity books

n     rulers, blunt scissors, and glue sticks

n     calculators

n     crayons and makers

n     backpacks

n     age-appropriate dictionaries and thesauruses