By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
As a part of the Education Heroes Campaign available through True Value Company, Tucker County Schools were the recipients of supplies needed to clean, sanitize, and ensure the health and safety of students and staff. Bus driver for the schools and co-owner and Vice President of Adkins Home Center, a True Value dealer, was on the dealership website when he stated, “I stumbled upon the program.”
Upon further investigation, Adkins read the disclaimer that the program was only available for one school per district. Being a smaller county with only three schools, he took the chance on applying for all three schools hoping extra funds would be available to supply them all. To his surprise, he was notified that his application was received and granted. “These kits retail for around $800 each,” he stated. Each school is receiving one case of hand soap, two cases of hand sanitizer, one case of masks, and one case of dispenser bottles.
A press release was provided from True Value that stated, “To ensure the health and safety of students, teachers, administrators, and staff at their local school, Adkins Home Center, True Value is donating kits comprised of hand sanitizer, KN-95 masks, and hand soap.” It continued, “At the beginning of the pandemic, True Value Manufacturing retooled its EasyCare paint production facility in Cary, Illinois, to produce FDA-approved hand sanitizer and other essential cleaning products to meet the unprecedented nationwide consumer demand for health and cleaning essentials. In August, the True Value Foundation decided to go even further to address growing public need for these products as schools reopen by launching the Educational Heroes Safety Campaign. This collaborative effort between the Company and its independent retailers aims to keep America’s kids learning while keeping our front line educational heroes safe.”
Adkins trammed the skid full of supplies to the Board of Education Office so they could be distributed accordingly. Facilities Director Jonathan Hicks said, “We appreciate the community collaborative effort to support our schools and to provide a safe learning environment.” He added, “This is a benefit of living in a small county, and we are very grateful.”
Superintendent of Tucker County Schools Alicia Lambert reiterated her appreciation to Adkins for applying for the grant and delivering the products. “All schools and businesses are hitting the suppliers of these products hard and this gives us a cushion in our inventory,” said Lambert. Hicks also added that while he feels they have an adequate inventory as the schools reopen to the students and staff, the future is unknown as well as the supply, therefore having this special delivery from Adkins and True Value is a great asset.
