Greater St. Cloud Residents Really Turn Out With School Supplies

There’s an old saying that says you know who your friends are when you are in a time of need, and I’ve found that to be true in my life for sure.  

Get our free mobile app

Since moving to Minnesota last September, I’ve learned that people here for the most part are a caring, giving group of people. There have been several ways I’ve seen this demonstrated, from simple suggestions people have given my wife and I since we moved here, to seeing people offering a helping hand when someone was having car trouble.  

These types of generosity remind me of my home state of North Carolina, and how people come together when times get tough, which has helped to make the move to Minnesota a smoother one. 

Over the last two weeks our radio stations at Townsquare Media in St. Cloud have been asking people to donate school supplies that we just delivered to The Salvation Army that serves the greater St. Cloud area. 

To be honest, we weren’t sure what to expect, we didn’t know if people would respond, but the response was tremendous. The number of people that turned up with donations was incredible.  

We found an unused space in our offices to store the supplies that just kept pouring in and piling up.  

One of the biggest needs we had was backpacks, and quite honestly, these can be the most expensive to get. 

As you can see here, not only did we get backpacks, but these backpacks are stylish and have some of the favorite characters that kids like and want. Some of them even lit up. Imagine for a child who was facing not having a backpack at all to have one that will help them fit in with other kids, now that’s what this is all about.  

Townsquare Media St. Cloud wants to say “THANK YOU” to all of those who donated supplies to help not just families and students, but their teachers as well. Each year teachers have to dip into their own pockets to help students who can't afford certain things for school.  

We also owe a big THANK YOU to Tim and Tamara from “Up In Smoke BBQ”, 2nd Street South in St. Cloud.  

We reached out to them to ask for a gift certificate to use as an incentive for those who donated supplies. Each person who donated could register to win from “Up In Smoke”. Not only did they say yes, but they gave us two certificates. A $100 certificate and a $50. Tim told me recently that he wanted to connect to this community, and he didn’t even have to think about saying yes to our request. 

Jillian from Sauk Rapids was the winner of the $100 certificate and Lynn from Rice won the $50 certificate.  

It doesn’t matter if you donated just because you wanted a chance to win from Up In Smoke, we’re thankful you did. And so are the families that will benefit from your kindness.  

If you would like to help The Salvation Army in their effort to serve the Greater St. Cloud area, here is the link to their website.