Business owner gathers school supplies for elementary students

Fresh new boxes of crayons, glue, notebooks, pencils, construction paper, and binders fill the office space at Bashaw Realty and Auction, LLC along with many other items needed to fill book bags for the local elementary kids.

Barbara Bashaw kept her eyes out for sales so she could fill the trunk of her car with the supplies needed to fill bookbags for the kids in her hometown

In the “little town with a big heart” you’ll find a local citizen with a giving spirit.

Nicholas County native and businesses owner, Barbara Bashaw, loves being involved in any event that benefits the children in her hometown.

Barbara starts getting ready for trick-or-treat the day after, so she will have plenty of candy to fill special treat bags to hand out to the kids.

She helps with Shop with a Cop and various other local programs for needy children.

This year, Barbara decided she would like to help provide school supplies for struggling parents and has been on a mission to gather crayons, notebooks, folders, glue, binders, markers, pencils, erasers, scissors and books bags.

“My plan is to fill as many backpacks as I can,” Barbara said. “I actually got started before school was out this year. I shopped for backpacks online and various other stores that were having sales, then I watched for stores that had their school supplies on sale,” she added.

When she heard a Dollar General Store was going out of business and had binders marked down 75 percent, she headed straight to the store and filled the entire trunk of her car.

Barbara said when residents in the community discovered what she was doing she received some help with donations and is very grateful.

Agents from Bashaw Realty and Auction, LLC, and local volunteers will fill the bookbags with supplies based on last year’s list.

The bookbags will be given away to Nicholas County students entering kindergarten through sixth grade during this year’s orientation.

“We will put students names in a box and have the kids draw a name during orientation. When their name is drawn, each child will get to choose which book bag they would like to have. It’s all for the kids, I want to do what I can to help a family that is going through hard times be able to get school supplies for their child,” Barbara said.

Barbara said she knows first hand what’s it like to attend school without all the supplies a child needs and has made it her mission to help kids in her community be prepared for back to school.