08/04/2026
Thank you to Manisha Reddy with the Wahpeton Daily News & News Monitor for this article!
Three Rivers Crisis Center is preparing to provide 600 backpacks to students in Richland and Wilkin counties through its fifth annual Pencils Plus Richland-Wilkin School Supply Drive.
Becky DeVries, client services coordinator said the program has continued to evolve since it began as organizers have learned what works best while coordinating the effort.
“We’ve learned lessons early on about what works and what doesn’t while we’re coordinating the supply drive,” DeVries said. “We look for school supply sales throughout the year to try to get the best deals.”
DeVries said the drive is about more than providing school supplies. The program helps reduce stress for families and serves as a prevention effort.
“This program may seem a little out of our scope of services, but we see this as a prevention program,” DeVries said. “Purchasing school supplies each year can be added stress to a family. If we can help alleviate that stress, we may be able to prevent an unhealthy situation down the road.”
The need for the program has continued to grow, DeVries said, with fewer backpacks remaining after each drive than in previous years.
“We know the children and families in our community have benefited greatly from the program,” she said.
Most supplies for this year’s backpacks have already been purchased, but organizers are still seeking donations of several higher-cost items, including 24-count packs of Ticonderoga pencils, four-packs of Expo dry-erase markers and 2-inch three-ring binders.
DeVries said one of the most rewarding parts of the drive is seeing students receive their backpacks and prepare for the school year.
“The looks on the kids’ faces when they walk around with their new backpack on their backs, ready for the new school year,” she said.
The community has continued to support the drive through school supply donations, monetary contributions and volunteer efforts. Volunteers help fill backpacks and assist during distribution day. Residents of Valley Lake Boys Home also help each year by moving supplies from the crisis center to the donation site.
This year, the drive received additional support through a $5,000 grant from Essentia Health to help purchase supplies. “A huge thank you to Essentia Health for their support of this project,” DeVries said.
Backpack distribution will take place from 1p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Wahpeton Event Center. People interested in donating can find PayPal information and shopping lists through Amazon, Target and Walmart on the Three Rivers Crisis Center website https://www.threeriverscrisiscenter.com/programs.html and the Pencils Plus Richland-Wilkin School Supply Drive page. Monetary donations can also be made at the Three Rivers Crisis Center office, 509 Dakota Ave., Suite B, Wahpeton, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
DeVries said the backpacks may not include every item on every school supply list, but they provide families with a helpful start to the school year.
“While we might not be able to provide everything on everyone’s school supply lists, this can be a good start,” she said.
News Reporting By Manisha Reddy
Manisha Reddy is a reporter for the Wahpeton Daily News and Richland County News Monitor. Manisha can be reached by calling (701) 291-3581 or emailing [email protected].
Annual drive helps local students start school prepared.
