ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Senior Suites at St. Clair Commons and Interim Healthcare of Southeast Ohio have teamed up to sponsor a school supplies drive for local area students.

The two groups are working to collect donations for students in need of supplies for the upcoming school year at St. Clairsville Elementary School and the Union Local School District. Heather Jewell, administrator of Senior Suites, said their goal is to provide at least 100 students with supplies.

Jewell said they wanted to give back to the community while also giving the assisted living faciity’s residents a chance to get involved. The staff of both facilities and the families of the residents’ were contacted and alerted to the school supply drive. Many have brought in donations filling multiple boxes of supplies that will be donated to help families who are having difficulty providing the proper tools for children.

“We wanted to give back to the community and help our students in the community thrive. We also wanted to get our residents involved,” she added.

Senior Suites at St. Clair Commons is an assisted living facility that provides residents with 24-hour nursing care, three meals a day and activities. Interim Healthcare provides home healthcare services with nurses, physical therapists, and occupation therapists.

Jewell said she contacted school officials and inquired what supplies students were most in need of. Those items include No. 2 pencils, pens, plain pocket folders, spiral notebooks, notebook papers, loose-leaf paper, 3-ring binders, crayons (box of 23 or 63), pink erasers, glue bottles, glue sticks, dry erase markers, colored pencils, washable markers, highlighters, rulers, scissors, backpacks, Kleenex and Clorox wipes. She said they are still in need of many items on the list.

All are welcome to make a donation to the drive. People interested in dropping off school supplies can do so at either location until the deadline of Friday. Senior Suites is located at 101 Dorothy Place in St. Clairsville; and Interim Healthcare is located at 47445 National Road, Suite 100 in St. Clairsville. It is not necessary to call ahead.

Diane Hunter, administrator of Interim Healthcare, said they appreciate any and all donations received. She added that Brian Smith of Huntington Bank donated around 20 backpacks for the drive which they are grateful for.

Once the drive concludes, the two facilities will deliver the supplies to Union Local and St. Clairsville school districts. Jewell encourages any school not included that has a need for supplies to contact Senior Suites.

“If anyone else needs school supplies, we would be happy to donate to them,” she said.

Senior Suites will also help welcome students and teachers back to the classroom by holding a free “grab-and-go” breakfast from 7-9 a.m. Aug. 27. The breakfast will include fruit, a cinnamon roll and a drink. The breakfast is for anyone in need of a quick meal. To RSVP for the meal, call 740-449-2700.