Over 400 underprivileged kids in the Lower Mainland need basic school supplies

The school season started weeks ago.

You might imagine that the few weeks prior to school starting would be filled with children’s excitement of shopping for school supplies with their guardians.

But sadly, that’s not the case for a percentage of children in the Lower Mainland.

In fact, entrepreneurs Tyler Carmont, Matthew Wollin, and Chad Nehring discovered there are 425 elementary school students in Delta, Surrey, and Langley who are currently without the basic supplies they need to succeed in school.

The businessmen want to make an immediate difference in the communities they live in so they have established the In-Need-No-More initiative. The program helps local businesses support children with the supplies they need for school. The group partnered up with negotiated rates that allow suppliers to sell school supply packs at $30 per student.

From there, businesses can choose how many packs they’d like to purchase and in return for their business involvement, they receive recognition content from In-Need-No-More on their Facebook page.

Where it all began

“The three of us wanted to launch a small business to build our skill sets and practise what we’ve learned at KPU (Kwantlen Polytechnic University). Once we began exploring what that looked like, we immediately realized we wanted to help people. Specifically, those who cannot help themselves: children – the generation of tomorrow,” Chad Nehring told Daily Hive.

They started exploring the idea by calling schools to find ways that they could help. A common theme arose at schools – that more than 30 kids at certain schools still did not have any school supplies. “This shattered the misconception we had that all students had what they needed once school started. We knew we found our calling; we’re going to help these kids, no matter what it takes.

“Our initial goal was to support all 425 students, but with the early success we’ve had, we plan to stretch that. There are likely more students in need at other schools in the Lower Mainland; we will continue to call them. We want to help as many children as we can this fall.”

The entrepreneurs’ goal is to raise awareness and support for those in need while bringing the community together on a common cause. They understand that purchasing school supplies is a burden for many families, especially those with multiple children. Couple this with the heightened cost of living in the Lower Mainland and living paycheque to paycheque, and it’s even more difficult. “We’ve heard from local principals that with the lack of funding in public schools does not support the need.”

So it’s no surprise that “this experience is worth its weight in gold” for Nehring and his colleagues.

All pickups and deliveries of supplies are carried out by Carmont, Wollin, and Nehring, with everything going directly to principals at the schools in need. They have also been fortunate to partner with Randy Mann Homes of RE/MAX Blueprint Realty, who has agreed to match all sales of other businesses as long as they get others on board.

Currently, In-Need-No-More has three committed businesses signed up and another nine who are interested in working with them. “Through sharing the involvement of these businesses through our social media following, we hope that the level of support snowballs; the more businesses that join, the more value we can provide.”

How you can help

• Like and share In-Need-No-More’s Facebook page
• Share In-Need No-More with businesses who can help
• Businesses interested in working with In-Need-No-More email [email protected]
• Educate others by promoting awareness and community involvement

“Let go of the misconception that once the back-to- school rush subsides, all students have what they need; that is not the case. Those who start the year without supplies, continue onward with no supplies. We need to be the voice for those in need; awareness is key.”

Nehring believes that together, “we can put smiles on the faces of those who cannot help themselves.”

Daily Hive Vancouver is a proud media sponsor of In-Need-No-More