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Back-to-school shopping can put a financial strain on wallets. The financial pressure often leads families to seek out alternative ways to shop for new school supplies. But what if you gave a different meaning to the word “new”?
Purchasing pre-loved items has evolved into a mainstream retail trend. Secondhand stores like Goodwill can provide families with like-new school supplies, and remain on budget.
Emerald Gottwald is the director of stores for Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries.
“You can find all those basics and essentials here,” said Gottwald. “In the past three or four years, we’ve seen a huge uptick, particularly between middle school, high school, college age individuals and a ton of parents coming in looking for their kids who are younger, toddlers even in daycare and then in elementary school.”
She tells us parents and students can find clothes, shoes, backpacks, furniture and even office supplies – for one base price.
With summer vacation ending, here are some tips for getting kids back on to their schoolyear routines.
“Never worn shoes that have been barely worn at all because their kids only were able to wear them for a short period of time,” explained Gottwald. “It might be a miss when you come in for the first hour you’re here and then the next thing you know, something’s walking through the back door and suddenly you have exactly what you were looking for.”
Goodwill also partners with Dell Technologies to provide refurbished laptops and computers at select locations in Massachusetts – including their location in Quincy.
“We sell them and fill up our selected location for a really affordable price,” Gottwald said. “It’s a very popular option and those are all tested and guaranteed when you purchase them.”
Just a couple blocks from the Goodwill in Quincy, Interfaith Social Services is helping serve the South Shore community with a backpack drive.
“Throughout the month of August, when families visit our food pantry and they have children under the age of 18, they get a backpack with all the school supplies that they’ll need for this upcoming year.” Executive Director Rick Doane says they’ve seen an uptick in families reaching out for help.
Parents of babies born during the coronavirus pandemic — who only knew a world where social distancing was the norm — are gearing up for their first day of school.
“In two years, we have doubled the number of people that we serve.”
Their backpack drive serves kids K-12 grade. Doane says they worked with schools in the region to provide students with the supplies they need for the new academic year.
“In the backpack, we have notebooks and crayons and pencils and pens and folders,” Doane said. “There can be a lot of anxiety, especially around school and going back to school. So it’s breaking down those ideas and trying to overcome the stigma of mental illness and saying, it’s okay to ask for help.” Here’s another tip – check your local Facebook groups. There, you can find people selling things like backpacks, furniture and even school supplies for a cheaper price.
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