Inside: Help out your community by hosting an annual school supply drive to gather school supplies for kids in need. This back-to-school drive is a great way to help your local community and get your pharmacy’s name out there.
For most kids, the conclusion of summer marks the beginning of back-to-school shopping. Unfortunately, some kids don’t get to experience the same excitement for the coming school year.
More than 16 million kids live in extreme poverty in the U.S. They arrive on the first day of school without the supplies they need to learn, according to the Kids in Need Foundation, an organization that provides free school supplies nationally to students most in need.
For those kids who aren’t as fortunate, consider arranging an annual school supply drive at your pharmacy. An annual school supply drive will help families in the area, and it will also get your pharmacy’s name out in the public.
If you need inspiration, look to Bartell Drugs, a family-owned chain of independent pharmacies in the state of Washington. The regional pharmacy chain has held a school supply drive every year for the past 14 years. Community members can donate basic school supplies and hygiene products at Bartell Drugs locations August 1 – 28, 2016, according to a July 25 press release.
Help families in your local community and promote your business by using these ideas to create your own back-to-school supply drive.
Plan and promote
Like any other event you hold at your pharmacy, you need to plan and promote the event to ensure its success.
To begin, mark your calendar and decide when the school supply drive will start. If you’re launching a month-long drive, you’ll want to give patients plenty of notice. They’ll need to know when you start accepting items, for how long, and what supplies you want people to donate.
Promote your school supply drive by:
- Posting on your pharmacy’s social media
- Creating flyers to stuff in prescription bags
- Hang posters around the pharmacy
- Reach out to local newspapers and T.V. stations to get the word out
Involving your pharmacy staff in the planning process can help you get great ideas for your supply drive. For example, one employee may have a knack for planning events and can help you organize your donation supply drive, while you can still keep busy with patients
It’s important that your staff be educated throughout the planning process. Be sure that your pharmacy’s employees are knowledgeable about when the drive will be held and what donations will be accepted. Your employees should be able to answer any questions patients may have when they come in to drop off their donations.
Decide on donations
Before you implement a full-blown charitable drive at your independent community pharmacy, it’s wise to partner with a charitable organization, such as the Kids in Need Foundation or the World Vision’s Teacher Resource Center, which is the organization Bartell Drugs partners with for its school supply drive.
Working with an organization can help provide you with support on how to best collect items that are dropped off, marketing your school supply drive and other efforts that are required to make the drive a success.
You’ll then need to decide what sorts of items you’ll be asking patients to donate. Bartell Drugs accepts donations of school supplies, personal hygiene products and monetary contributions.
Items you can suggest patients donate at your pharmacy include:
- Scissors
- Pens and pencils
- Markers and crayons
- Spiral notebooks
- Glue
- Toothbrushes
- Hand soap
- Shampoo
Making collections
Types of donations aren’t the only thing your pharmacy needs to plan for. It’s important to brainstorm ideas for how you’ll physically collect your donated items. Ideas can range from a simple donation bin in the front of your store, to creating a more extravagant back-to-school theme and utilizing backpacks to hold the collected supplies.
Area schools will be grateful for the dedication and care your pharmacy shows by collecting supplies for kids in need. And, your pharmacy may even gain a new patient-base and see more foot traffic because of the promotion.
Discover four ways to get involved and participate in your community.
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