Maui County Federal Credit Union is holding drives for school supplies and backpacks at each of its three branches until July 17. The drive will help numerous Maui students.

LAHAINA – Maui County Federal Credit Union (FCU) is holding drives for school supplies and backpacks at each of its branches in Kahului, Lahaina and Wailuku until July 17.

These events support The Salvation Army Maui’s annual back-to-school efforts to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for Maui’s children in need.

In the past few months, Hawaii residents have experienced the extraordinary challenge of the COVID-19 virus, making this School Supplies Drive more important than ever before.

Backpacks of supplies from the list in this article can be dropped off at Maui County FCU branches during business hours. Branches are located at 270 Dairy Road in Maui Marketplace in Kahului, 270 Lahainaluna Road in Lahaina, and at 1888 Wili Pa Loop in Wailuku.

Donations for adopting a backpack are also being accepted at all Maui County FCU branches and are 100 percent tax-deductible.

“We are proud to be able to partner with The Salvation Army for the third year in the endeavor to help local students go back to school prepared to succeed, by donating school supplies for kids in need,” said Maui County Federal Credit Union President and CEO Gary Fukuroku.

“Now more than ever, we hope to help students return to the important work of learning and getting an education that will assist in preparing them for the future.”

Lt. Steven Howard, corps officer and Maui County coordinator for The Salvation Army, said, “We are grateful to Maui County FCU and their members for supporting keiki in need across our island. Especially during the ongoing pandemic, these back to school items will help ease the minds of students and their families as they prepare for the new school year.”

Supplies that students need include backpacks without wheels, reams of copy paper, three-ring binders, portfolios with two pockets, lined filler paper, clear sheet protectors, three-inch by three-inch Post-it Notes, four-ounce white glue, composition books, glue sticks, erasers, black/blue/red ballpoint pens, No. 2 and mechanical pencils, 12-inch rulers with inches and centimeters, dry erase markers, crayons, permanent black markers, colored pencils, six-inch scissors, color markers, earbuds and headphones, watercolors with brushes, clear plastic pencil boxes, highlighters, Scotch Tape, graph paper, spiral notebooks, tabbed dividers, three-ring pencil pouches, index cards and protractors.

Families in need of back-to-school assistance can contact The Salvation Army Family Services in Kahului at (808) 871-6270 and in Lahaina at (808) 661-5335. For more information visit maui.salvationarmy.org.