Missouri’s Only Free School Supply Store Re-Opens For Shopping
On Monday, Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. St. Louis area teachers will have the chance to start shopping for free school supplies for students in need. Last year teachers helped distribute more than $1.25 million in donated school supplies from KidSmart to local children in need.
The KidSmart Free Store, at 12175 Bridgeton Square Drive in Bridgeton, MO, will be open for shopping from 3 – 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday until May. Teachers at schools where 70% or more of the students qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program, a national poverty index, are eligible to shop at KidSmart. Teachers typically receive more than $400 in free supplies for his or her students in need during each shopping trip.
“Because of the generosity of the St. Louis community our shelves are stocked with everything from crayons and paper to office furniture and Cat in the Hat journals,” says Director of Operations Ann Sheinbein, “Our teachers will be able to make sure their students start the school year off right, with the tools they need to succeed in school.”
More than 80,000 St. Louis area children are eligible for KidSmart’s services. KidSmart currently serves more than 35,000 of these students who attend more than 70 local schools. To be eligible to shop, teachers must be a full-time, certified teacher with his or her own classroom, at one of our eligible schools. Teachers are eligible to shop for one hour, once a month during an assigned week. Teachers from schools not eligible to shop can earn a shopping trip by participating in KidSmart’s volunteer to shop program.
Since opening in 2002, KidSmart has distributed more than $2.9 million in school supplies to more than 30,000 economically disadvantaged children in the area.