Students from lower-income families are poised to receive much-needed school supplies through a debut partnership between the Central Coast chapters of Planet Fitness and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast.
Theresa Cappelletty, Planet Fitness’ regional manager, told New Times that the two groups came together to promote a judgment-free environment for kids.
“These students come from different walks of life,” she said. “One person might need everything whereas another student might need pencils and a backpack. There’s no judgment, just donate what you can. By supplying that to students who can’t get that on their own, they aren’t going to be judged or bullied.”
Nationally, families are cutting back on spending in other arenas to make room for school supplies, which have become more costly because of inflation, according to CBS News reporting in 2022. Data from the National Retail Federation show that total spending on back-to-school products rose from $36.9 billion last year to $41.5 billion in 2023. Per American household, that amounts to roughly $864 in 2022 and $890 in 2023.
On the Central Coast, the Planet Fitness and Boys and Girls Club partnership aims to address the growing need for school supplies through local collection drives. From July 24 through Aug. 8, community members in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties can donate essential items like backpacks, lined notebooks, No. 2 pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, calculators, erasers, and rulers at the Planet Fitness locations in Atascadero and Santa Maria. Drop off supplies at 8210 El Camino Real in Atascadero or at 1505 Stowell Center Plaza in Santa Maria.
“A lot of the teachers that are [Planet Fitness] members are so happy to hear that we are partnering in that way because they see firsthand how that impacts students in their learning if they don’t have those tools,” Cappelletty said.
Planet Fitness and Boys and Girls Clubs of America have a national partnership through a corporate sponsorship. Kelly White O’Neill, the marketing director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast, told New Times that the unique aspect was the local Planet Fitness chapter reaching out to create the school supply drive.
“They really are taking their corporate sponsorship very seriously, and being very proactive to reach out to their local Boys and Girls Club to put the corporate sponsorship in place, which almost never happens,” White O’Neill said.
She added that both groups hope the school supply donations can drive home their anti-bullying messaging.
“We serve any child that needs us but historically the kids that we serve come from families with great need,” White O’Neill said. “School supplies are, of course, an issue and not every family has the resources to provide school supplies.”
The donations will help hundreds of kids across both counties. Once collected, the supplies will be delivered on Aug. 11 to the Atascadero and Paso Robles school districts, along with schools in Santa Maria like Robert Bruce Elementary and Arellanes Elementary and Junior High schools.
More school supply drives are in the pipeline on the Central Coast, according to White O’Neill.
“The United Way in Northern Santa Barbara is doing the Cram the Van drive, and I believe some of our kids will benefit from that as well,” she said.
Fast facts
• SLO Cal Careers is offering 10 full-ride scholarships to an online coding boot camp valued at almost $13,500 for each training spot. The bootcamp is for 26 weeks and is made up of online classes in a part-time format. Meant for beginners, it will cover basic coding skills involving HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, Express, React, and databases using SQL and Postgres. To apply for the SLO Cal Careers scholarships or learn more about the coding boot camp, visit slocalcareers.org.
• Eight restaurants in SLO County received $5,000 each in grants from the Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation Foundation. The funding comes from the foundation’s $900,000 contribution to the California Restaurant Foundation. It aims to boost local restaurants emerging from a poor economy because of the pandemic, and the money will allow for equipment upgrades and workforce training. Some of these local winners include Gino’s Pizza, the Rib Line, Central Coast Distillery, and Les Petites Canailles. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in 55 Fiction 2023.