This post was provided by News Now Warsaw
By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Tools for School, the program that’s provided school supplies to local children for more than 30 years by Combined Community Services, has a new strategic partner this year.
United Way of Kosciusko County and Whitley Counties, which has new leadership with the arrival of Barry Andrews as the CEO and Randy Polston as the Chief Relationship Officer, reached out to CCS earlier this year.
Polston, who previously served as the CCS director for five years before stepping down in 2024, said he and others have always wanted to see the two groups work together.
Polston said he contacted Ami Pitt, a former colleague at CCS who’s overseen Tools for School for decades.
“When I reached out to Ami and said, ‘Hey, … we want to be a part of Tools for School,’ she just jumped up and down. She was so excited about it,” Polston said.
Pitt said the invitation to collaborate was wonderful
“This is what we’ve wanted to do for years and they were 100 percent, hey, ‘Hey, let’s do this together,” Pitt said Thursday.
Tools for School returns Wednesday, June 30, at Lakeview Middle School and provides everything from supplies to haircuts to clothes and a wide variety of resources.
This year, United Way has provided 2,500 full-size book bags, many of which are being adopted and being filled with needed supplies by corporate partners and other supporters.
In one recent instance, 340 bags filled by five different groups were returned, ready to go.
Pitt credits United Way with that effort.
“We’ve had a lot of people and companies and churches adopt our backpacks,” Pitt said.
Polston was pleased to reconnect with staff at CCS and help with the collaboration.
“Just being able to go over there and have some meetings with them and talk about what this is going to look like, it just really, really touched my heart,” Polston said.
Donations are still being accepted and you can learn more at both of the groups’ Facebook pages seen below.
