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With the new school year set to begin on Friday, Sept. 11, the Municipality of Athens is asking residents to help make sure no child starts class without the basics.

The initiative is run through the city’s Reception and Solidarity Center (KYADA), which supports hundreds of children from families it assists every year by covering the cost of school supplies. This year, the center is opening the appeal to the wider public in hopes of reaching even more families in need.

Nikos Chrysogelos, president of KYADA’s board of directors and Deputy Mayor of Athens for Climate Governance and Social Economy, framed the campaign as a matter of equal access to education.

“What drives us is every child’s right to an equal education,” Chrysogelos said in the municipality’s statement. “This collection drive for school and stationery items builds on the support that the Municipality of Athens and KYADA already provide to families every school year. We hope it will help us meet the needs of the children we assist, and show the strength of social cohesion and solidarity in this city.”

A one day collection drive on Saturday

The main push comes Saturday, September 5, when KYADA’s central offices at 35 Peiraios Street will stay open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. specifically to receive donations.

The municipality says it will accept both new and gently used school supplies, provided they are in excellent condition, including:

  • Backpacks
  • Pencil cases
  • Notebooks and sketchpads
  • Pens and pencils
  • Markers and colored pencils
  • Erasers and pencil sharpeners
  • Glue sticks
  • Paper clips and binder clips

Donations welcome year round

Residents who cannot make it this Saturday, can donate all year around. The Social Bookstore and Stationery Store, part of the Citizens’ Mutual Aid Hub at 2 Domokou Street and Filadelfeias, across from Athens railway station, Larissa Station, accepts school supply donations year round, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The offering does not stop here,” the municipality said in its statement, noting that the ongoing collection point allows the city to keep meeting children’s school supply needs as they arise throughout the year.