Kids R First's Big Job Made Easier with Volunteers

How many glue sticks are on your school supply list? Kids R First ordered 12,000.  Marble composition books? They've got 19,559.   Crayons? 6,236 boxes.

For over 14 years, the local nonprofit  Kids R First’s mission has been clear: put school supplies in the hands of children who needed them.

With community support and a dedicated core of volunteers, this year they will be able to meet the needs of over 17,000 students at schools in Reston, Herndon, Centreville, Chantilly, Ashburn, Sterling and other local communities.

 “This is a true grassroots effort. We are doing this right in our community, helping our community,” said Ginger Seeley, vice-president of Kids R First. 

Each school chooses what they would like for each grade.

“They order exactly what they want for their backpacks," said Seeley.

Working from multiple, detailed spreadsheets, Kids R First determines what needs to be ordered from their suppliers and business partners Office Depot and Walmart. Through the partnerships with these retailers, Kids R First manages to obtain $4 in supplies for every $1 donated.

The supplies are ordered, but then they have to be delivered and organized at the supply staging center at . 

Teamwork was the most important supply for the volunteers who helped unload and organize the supplies at Hughes last week. The supplies were brought in by football teams (from Park View High School and ) and firefighters (from the Reston Station 25, Fox Mill Station 31 and Frying Pan Park Station 36). They unloaded hundreds of boxes of school supplies from trucks provided by and 2 Marines and A Truck. 

Supplies are stacked to the ceiling, circling the Langston Hughes cafeteria. Now the detail work begins.

For the next two weeks, volunteers will work in pairs, pulling the supplies requested for each grade at each school and organizing them for pick-up. Many volunteers return year after year, supporting the cause and happy to lend a hand.

“We’ve volunteered for years," said Margaret Witherspoon, working alongside her now college-aged daughter Laura.  “Originally, I was looking for something for my girls to do during the summer.”

Jeremy Schonfeld and Andrew Shedlock, Langston Hughes eighth graders, felt they should volunteer since the effort was being held in their school -  plus they could earn community service hours for volunteering.

Kids R First founder and president Susan Ungerer and most of the Board of Directors are retired school teachers or school counselors. They know that it is important for students ought to start the school year with the necessary supplies. They also know, firsthand, that teachers frequently use their own money to provide supplies for these students. 

"Since many families have a difficult time affording all the needed supplies for school, and the students themselves do not want to appear different from their classmates, we are able to discreetly give a donated backpack filled with donated materials to students whenever they need it—whether it be at Open House, the first day in September, or whenever they arrive in our school," said Brendan Menuey, principal at  

"No one should go without, and Kids R First really puts that idea into action," said Menuey.

Do you or your teen have a few hours to spare for this good cause? Volunteers are needed  from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday until Aug. 12. Please click here for more information.