WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As families prepare for back-to-school season, a West Palm Beach nonprofit is helping take some pressure off rising costs.
Resource Depot accepts donated arts and education supplies — some gently used, others brand new — and sells them at a discounted rate.
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For starting at $5, shoppers can fill a bin with school supplies like pencils, markers and paint. The organization also collects sewing, office, and container and packaging supplies, among other items.
"What we do as a nonprofit is we take in donations from the community of arts and education supplies that are still useful and we keep them in circulation," Jen O'Brien, executive director of Resource Depot, said.
O'Brien said the organization's mission goes beyond affordability. "We're really about keeping things affordable, keeping things out of the waste stream, and really inspiring people to kind of think differently about their waste and their consumption habits," O'Brien said.
The National Retail Federation estimates families spent an average of $143.77 per student on school supplies last year. The National Education Association says many teachers spend between $500 to $900 of their own money each year on classroom supplies.
Park Vista art teacher Jade Henderson said his own spending far exceeds that estimate. "I probably spend two to $3,000, I think, a year," Henderson said.
Henderson said Resource Depot has made a significant difference for him over the years. "I save hundreds probably thousands of dollars through Resource Depot over the years," Henderson said.
He said the variety of donated materials also sparks creativity in the classroom. "It's always nice to be surprised and to find different materials here that I can repurpose," Henderson said.
Henderson has even turned donations into lessons for his students. "I've done projects with students where we created artwork out of the materials from Resource Depot and then we have an art show with the student work," Henderson said.
Resource Depot welcomes about 2,500 visitors a month and collects nearly 200,000 pounds of donations each year. Staff said the community continues to show up as inflation stretches household budgets.
"Everybody's looking for ways to kind of make their budget stretch further," O'Brien said. "So, we welcome everybody to come and shop us.”
For hours, donation drop-off information, and more, visit the Resource Depot website.
