WILMINGTON - Students in New Hanover County have a fresh batch of school supplies to kick off their new year, thanks to the N.C. Department of Transportation.
NCDOT staff on Thursday delivered more than 1,000 school supplies to Edwin A. Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington. The supplies included notebooks, pens, paper, facial tissue and hand sanitizer. The drive was part of Governor Roy Cooper’s 3rd Annual School Supply Drive.
“Our staff continually shows up and donates to help out their communities,” NCDOT Secretary Jim Trogdon said. “I am extremely happy that we can chip in each year to help students and teachers across North Carolina.”
Each year, teachers spend an average of $500 of their money on supplies for their students. Cooper started a school supply drive in 2017 and called on state employees and others to show their support and appreciation for teachers by donating.
Donation bins were available at state government buildings, businesses that partner with the North Carolina Business Committee on Education and all North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union locations from July 29 to Aug. 16. In addition to state employees, Cooper encouraged all residents to participate by donating supplies or organizing a drive at their workplaces.
Raleigh and Wilmington area offices with the NCDOT donated their supplies to Edwin A. Alderman Elementary. Other NCDOT offices are donating supplies they collected to schools in their local areas.