Parents, teachers and students at Carrollton Elementary School are urging others in Isle of Wight County to join them in helping the North Carolina children and families that have been devastated by Hurricane Florence.

The Hampton Roads Kids Care donations drive has collection points at Carrollton Elementary, Westside Elementary and Smithfield High School as of Wednesday, according to Holly Graning, the hospitality chair for the Carrollton Elementary PTA.

Parents and their children are encouraged to donate school supplies for North Carolina kids that are similar to their own children’s ages. Needed elementary school supplies include composition notebooks, wide-ruled paper, scissors, pencils, markers, crayons, glue sticks, Sharpies, backpacks and lunch boxes. High schoolers are encouraged to donate binders, college-ruled paper, spiral notebooks, index cards, pencils, Sharpies, ballpoint pens, lunch boxes and backpacks.

The vision for Hampton Roads Kids Care is to partner with others locally to help North Carolina residents rebuild, and specifically for local children to provide relief for children affected by Florence.

“We want to teach our kids to think beyond themselves and have empathy for others,” Graning said. “It’s also a way to build a community in the school.”

Hampton Roads Kids Care is partnering with the United Way of Robeson County in North Carolina to make sure that the supplies go directly to county students in need. One of the hardest-hit communities in Robeson County is Lumberton.

Graning, who was born and raised in Lumberton, said she understands how much this community needs their help, as do her friends and family from the area.

“This is something that we can do to connect to the community where we were raised and to the schools that we grew up in,” she said.

Donations are due by Oct. 5 at labeled boxes at each participating school. Contact Holly Graning at holly.graning@gmail.com or 705-6656 for donations to Carrollton Elementary and Westside Elementary, or Kristy Campbell at a2zworkout@gmail.com or 910-474-3960 for donations at Smithfield High School.

Visit facebook.com/hamptonroadskidscare for up-to-date information on the schools participating in the collections drive.