Walmart School Supplies

Walmart School Supplies – Getting ready for new education year in school? Needless to say, school supplies might be one of the first things you would think of. That being said, many parents find themselves in a difficult situation because the supply cost is pretty high. According to recent statistics, the average school supplies can cost around $1,000 for high school students. Some other sites even claim that the average is close to $1,500.

The later number came from Huntington Bank, through their Backpack index survey report. Not only that, but they also release some numbers related to the cost of supply for elementary and middle school students. According to the report, parents of middle schoolers spend almost $1,000 while parents of elementary students spend almost $650 on the supplies.

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Walmart Back to School Supplies

One of the most visited stores for this kind of supply is Walmart. Spread widely in the United States, Walmart recognizes the need for supplies and constantly provide some discount programs during the new school year. They even launched a program that asks the student to recommend one of their teachers to receive some kind of a gift card. However, apparently, some teachers criticized the gift card program for some reason. They even encourage everyone not to spend their hard-earned money on Walmart for school supplies. Since we’re not focusing on that matter, we’ll leave the story for another time. Point is, there’s no current Walmart program that can provide free school supplies.

Did you know that there are many other possibilities that can actually help you to get that much-needed school supplies for a cheap price or even for free? Below are some of the alternatives you might want to try:

Kids in Need Foundation

This organization is by far the biggest organization that attends to the school supplies needs of children in the United States. Almost 5 million students from financially needy families received their help last year through the School Ready Supplies Program. The foundation works together with the teachers to provide free school supplies, so parents or schools cannot ask for the supplies themselves.

Clothing Swap

You might be able to find yourself good clothing for your kid through this kind of program, which is often available in your local area. They are usually administered by local parenting groups, and the only requirement for you to be eligible for the program is to bring your own kids clothes (gently used). Use Google search engine or Facebook events search to find such a program. There’s also swap.com, a website that facilitates such service.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army through their local chapter sometimes provides some help for parents who are having trouble dealing with the high cost of school supplies. Since the SA is a non-profit organization, this kind of service really depends on the amount of donation and funding they receive and also the work of volunteers. For more information on the Salvation Army’s back to school assistance program, find their local chapter in your area.

Operation Homefront

The organization focuses on military families, and for school supplies, they have the Back to School Brigade program. If you are from a military family, you can receive free school supplies through the Operation Homefront events.

Craigslist

Last but not least, you can try to find some freebies on Craigslist. Open craigslist in your city and go to the For Sale section. There’s a “Free” checkbox there, click on it. After that, you can search for free items, including school supplies. While it is kind of hard to find free school supplies during normal school days, but you can expect some businesses or people offer promotions and giveaways.

References:

  • Walmart Back to School Deals 2016 – http://www.passionforsavings.com/weekly-ad/walmart-back-to-school-deals/
  • Swap.com – Online Consignment – Back to School – https://www.swap.com/back-to-school/?PID=4003003&ref=cj&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cj-2470763-4003003&CID=2470763
  • Image: corporate.walmart.com