By ELLEN BROWN

Staff Writer

Sevier County’s Promise and The Salvation Army are teaming up again this year to collect back-to-school supplies through Monday.

“It’s a community effort — everybody helps,” said Kim Loveday, Sevier County Family Resource Center director. “The Salvation Army has the manpower (to distribute the items) and we’re the go-between.”

Items needed include one-, three- and five-subject spiral notebooks; No. 2 pencils (no mechanicals); clear or mesh backpacks with no wheels; 24-packs of crayons; Elmer’s Glue and Elmer’s Glue Sticks; Fiskars blunt-tip scissors and regular scissors; black, blue and red pens; pencil boxes/bags; colored markers/pencils/rulers; basic calculators; two-pocket folders and pocket folders with brads; cap erasers and regular erasers; loose leaf wide/college-ruled notebook paper; composition notebooks; and three-ringed notebooks (1-2 in. with dividers/labels).

These items can be dropped off at all Sevier County Public Library branches and all branches of Tennessee State Bank, Sevier County Bank, Home Federal Bank and Citizens National Bank.

“More banks have gotten involved this year,” Loveday said.

The most needed items are the backpacks, she added, which can end up being more expensive than other school supplies.

“The tax-free weekend is coming up, so this is a great time to shop and donate.”

Sevier County’s Promise is a local chapter of America’s Promise, a national nonprofit organization launched by Gen. Colin L. Powell in 1997 dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. The Five Promises of America’s Promise are: Caring adults in every child’s life; A safe place for children after school; The chance for a healthy start (mind, body, spirit); The chance to learn marketable skills; and Opportunities to give back.

For more information about Sevier County’s Promise, call Kim Loveday at 428-7999.

ebrown@themountainpress.com