TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

MFTHCI, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services, and the Optimist Club of Merrill announced their 2022-2023 Backpacks and School Supplies drive is now under way. New backpacks and new school supplies can be dropped off at collection points at Walgreens in Merrill and Incredible Bank (formerly River Valley Bank). Used items cannot be accepted for this project.

Organizers say the new items needed most include: backpacks, 1” binders, colored pencils, crayon boxes of 24, Clorox or Lysol disinfectant wipes, black chisel tip dry erase markers, 2-pocket paper and plastic folders, Kleenex, wide ruled notebooks, wide washable classic markers, #2 pencils, plastic supply pencil boxes, blunt and pointed scissors, and black fine point and ultra fine point Sharpie markers.

Eligible families who will receive the backpacks and school supplies will receive information in the mail. Distribution to those eligible families will take place on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, between 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at the Prairie River Middle School cafeteria (use Door #14).

Monetary contributions will also be accepted and are tax deductible. Monetary donations may be mailed to: MFTHCI-Backpacks, P.O. Box 793, Merrill WI 54452.
For more information, call Jana at 715.539.5441.