Tools for School accepting donations for Dixon students in the upcoming school year

DIXON – A program that provides in-need students at Dixon Public Schools District 170 with school supplies is helping a growing number of students each year.

Tools for School provides K-12 students who are eligible for the free and reduced lunch program with a backpack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to use throughout the year, program director Mandy Dallas said in an interview with Shaw Local.

District 170 has been hosting the program for more than 12 years. For the 2023-24 school year, the program provided supplies for 531 students. That number jumped to 640 for the 2024-25 school year, Dallas said.

“We had a hundred more students that we provided for,” Dallas said.

The program relies strictly on donations, and the number of donations it receives directly correlates to the number of students it can provide for, Dallas said.

Tools for School is accepting either monetary donations or backpacks filled with school supplies. All donations can be dropped off at the district office at 1335 Franklin Grove Road in Dixon, she said.

The program will distribute the supplies to students from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Dixon Elks Lodge, 1279 Franklin Grove Road, before the start of the new school year Aug. 13.

The event will be a “one-stop shop” for families and feature other community resources such as free haircuts and services from the Lee County Health Department, among others, Dallas said.

For information, call Dallas at 630-881-3995.