We’ve made a serious plea through a front-page story and advertisement. We’ve even had some fun, as the Exchange’s “grandmothers” banded together for a photograph challenging others of their kind in the county.

Now it’s your turn.

Your local newspaper recently began a collection drive for clear book bags, backpacks and an array of school supplies for the 2018-19 school year in Scotland County. It’s an effort each and every one of us are taking very seriously — and we hope you will, too.

Listen, folks … the need is real. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be doing this — and the newspaper’s “grandmothers” certainly wouldn’t have stepped in front of the camera.

But Scotland County Schools will be requiring all students to have a clear book bag or backpack when they arrive at school this fall. That’s a challenge for many — first because they can be difficult to find, and second because they will be an additional cost for all families.

And we aren’t a county awash in disposable monies. Many families just don’t have the means to simply order book bags or backpacks online; and even getting their children the basic supplies to get them ready for the new school year can be challenging and even downright impossible.

But what Scotland County DOES have is a heart — people who have compassion and caring for others.

We know there are already programs underway or about to start aimed at assisting those families in need. The Scotland County Sheriff’s Office has a “Stuff the Cruiser” effort that will run through Saturday in the parking lot of Walmart and Dollar Tree; and the NAACP will have its annual “Back to School, Stay in School event soon — each focusing on school supplies for local children.

Our effort to collect clear book bags, backpacks and school supplies is another way you can help. But don’t think you have to do a lot (though you certainly could). While a few folks could bring us a mountain of items that would quickly fill the boxes here, we’d love to see a lot of folks doing a little — which would also fill those boxes in no time.

All it takes is this: Shop locally to find clear book bags, backpacks and/or school supplies like pencils, one-subject notebooks, three-subject notebooks, composition notebooks, 2-inch or 3-inch three-ring binders, colored pencils, hand-held calculators, glue sticks, No. 2 pencils, headphones or ear buds, white-ruled paper, crayons, markers, scissors, rulers, two-pocket folders and erasers. Purchase what you can and stop by our office at 915 S. Main St. in Laurinburg — and we might even take your photograph.

We will collect these items through Tuesday, Aug. 21. From there, they will be delivered to the folks at Scotland County Schools for distribution.

We hope you will help.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill)