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Women of Steel donate school supplies

Elkview Mine women are donating school supplies to kids in the Elk Valley and the Crowsnest Pass.
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From left: Edie Holland

The Women of Steel is supplying local kids in need with supplies for the coming school year. This is the second year the organization has come together to help out children in the Elk Valley and the Crowsnest Pass.

The Women of Steel (WOS) is made up of Elkview Mine women. WOS co-chair, Sarah Thompson, explained, “We just have fun, we get together every other month to organise fundraisers. It’s just a good way to get our women together.”

Bins were set up at Elkview mine over the summer for employees to bring in any supplies they wished to donate. The WOS also received cash donations from Teck Coal, Staples, The D and A Social Crew at Elkview mine, and the local United Steel Workers Union in Sparwood.

WOS have put together about 60 backpacks full of supplies specific to each child’s school and grade and will be distributing them to all of the schools in Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, and the Crowsnest Pass. They’re also working with the Fernie Women’s Centre and the Sparwood Food Bank to supply packs for specific families.

Thompson said making the decision to bring back the Back to School Supplies campaign for a second year was easy. “The need is overwhelming, we’ve actually had to turn some people away,” said Thompson. “Hopefully next year maybe we can get the community involved with doing some barbeques, donating some school supplies, do some more fundraisers, and I think it will continue to be a really good thing.”

Thompson now has a busy week ahead of her going to each school to deliver the backpacks in time for the start of the 2012/2013 school year next week.