Although the official Kitz 4 Kidz program has been discontinued by Value Drug Mart’s head office this year, local staff at the St. Paul Value Drug Mart have taken it upon themselves to ensure the program continues.
Hope Ainsworth is heading the program at Value Drug Mart and says there will be some slight changes to how the program is run, to allow for it to be more personalized.
The store will collect donations in $5 increments from customers, and that money will be given to the St. Paul Education Regional Division (SPERD) to hand out to families who are needing extra help with purchasing school supplies for the upcoming school year.
Families will then visit the store to purchase school supplies, using the donations to help cover the total cost of their purchases.
“Value Drug Mart head office had to make some hard choices this year,” according to a press release from Value Drug Mart. “One was to discontinue the Kitz 4 Kidz program.”
The revamped program in St. Paul will “continue to be discreetly managed by our school board and individual school officers. If you need help to buy school supplies do not hesitate to contact your school or school board,” says the release.
In the past, the Kitz 4 Kidz program offered prefilled school supply kits, but students would need other products too, says Ainsworth. The new program will make the school supply shopping process “more personalized,” she adds.
Families in need of extra help with school supplies can access the program by contacting SPERD. Ainsworth says she believes there is a need for the program in St. Paul because every year there is a number of families who access its benefits.
Ainsworth is hopeful the program will continue to be a success and this year’s goal is to raise the same dollar amount as last year, which was $1,500. All the money raised stays in the community.
“We are hopeful this number will be surpassed this year,” says the release, adding, “We have our generous community to thank for all past and future Kitz 4 Kidz successes.”
A small in-store draw will also be held alongside the program.
