Alison Sprague….On Thursday, August 18th, Sustainable Surplus welcomed teachers and nonprofit staff to their 5th annual Back to School BYOB (Bring Your Own Box) event, where they were encouraged to fill an empty box with free office supplies.
Sustainable Surplus is a nonprofit organization that turns corporate overload into resources for the community. Perfectly good supplies are all too often trashed, which is not only wasteful, but can be detrimental to the environment. With the help of Sustainable Surplus, corporations are able to donate their excess supplies, rather than throwing them in the dump. “These items don’t go to landfills or contribute to greenhouse gases,” comments San Diego County Board Supervisor Dave Roberts, who is noted as being a huge supporter of the organization.
Attendees filling their boxes with much needed back-to-school items
The environment is not the only factor inspiring the continuation of these annual Back to School BYOB events, however. These events are also good for teachers’ wallets. On average, teachers pay about $400 from their own pockets each school year in order to provide necessary classroom supplies. Sustainable Surplus eases financial stress by providing each attendee with an average of $180 worth of office supplies. “Anything these teachers save goes right back into helping their program,” Sustainable Surplus CEO Sue Prelozni shares.
Thursday’s event was filled with teachers and nonprofit staff from all over the county, filling their own boxes with supplies to ensure success in the upcoming school year.
The next BYOB will be on October 20, 2016 at 760 Shadowridge Dr., Vista. Watch for information as it gets closer to the date.
If you wish to become involved with Sustainable Surplus, please visit their website at http://www.sustainablesurplus.org
