Staples in West Hartford is now a permanent school supply donation site for the Connecticut educational charity ‘Planting Pencils’ established by Kingswood Oxford student Ishaan Patel.
Dr. Alpa Patel and her son Ishaan Patel, founder of Planting Pencils, have partnered with Staples in West Hartford to establish a permanent school supply donation site to provide the tools underserved students in Connecticut and beyond need to receive a quality education. Submitted photo
Submitted
Planting Pencils, a charity committed to improving access to education for underserved children, has formed a partnership with Staples in West Hartford to establish a permanent collection site. Donations of new pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, notebooks, calculators, and other school supplies can be placed in the Planting Pencils bin during normal store hours. The supplies will be distributed to deserving schools in Connecticut and beyond.
“We are so grateful to Staples’ management and entire staff for allowing us to set up a collection bin to make it easy for people to donate,” said Ishaan Patel, a student at West Hartford’s Kingswood Oxford School. “We are making our first delivery on March 2 to Covenant Preparatory School in Hartford, so the more supplies we can give them the better.”
Staples is located in Bishops Corner at 2550 Albany Ave. in West Hartford. Patel had previously collected supplies at his school. The 13-year-old created the charity after discovering that less than 2 percent of humanitarian aid goes towards education. He believes that one pencil, one book, one child at a time can make a difference.
Planting Pencils is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to raising awareness and collecting school supplies to improve access to education in underserved parts of the world. Formed in 2015 by a socially conscious 13-year-old boy, the goal of the charity is to use the seed of education to grow empowered children. For more information or to donate visit www.PlantingPencils.org.
Staples in West Hartford is open Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
