In which I beg for school supplies....

Sorry, loyal readers. I know I’ve been very lax on the blog updating recently, and I apologize. I feel like it was October and then all of the sudden it was January.

I will update soon, I promise, but first I would like to make an impassioned plea, the same one I made on Facebook:

I need school supplies!

My volunteer stipend isn’t enough for me to buy all the school supplies I need, and my students don’t have the money to get the supplies for themselves. So I’m gonna rely on the kindness of you guys, and beg you to send me some.

American Samoa is part of the U.S. postal system, so sending here is the same as sending anywhere in the States. Also, since you are donating these supplies, you can write them off come tax time.

Here are some things I really need:

• Construction paper (lots!)
• Sticky Tack (for hanging projects; I have to use a lot because it’s so humid here.)
• TONS OF MARKERS!!!!!
• Sharpies
• Blue or black pens
• Pencils
• Glue
• Stickers
• Scissors
• Stapler (students are rough on staplers)
• Index Cards
• Clay (to let dry and then paint)
• Paint to use on the clay
• Paintbrushes
• A globe
• A blow-up globe

Also:
• We are going to make a paper mache Earth, so I need tons of newspaper. If you wanted to send some old newspapers from your home, it would be cool for my kids to see news from around the world.
• We are soon going to start a huge project in our classroom. We are going to paint my ceiling to look like the solar system. The problem is paint is expensive. There is an Ace hardware here, so if you are so inclined, you could send me a gift certificate to buy indoor paint for this project.
• Any educational DVDs about the ocean or Earth Science stuff. The History Channel has a great series called the Universe that I would love to have the first season of.
• Finally, if any of you wanted to send me NFL stuff, I could use it as prizes. Thanks to the success of Samoans in the NFL, kids here LOVE FOOTBALL. Any team stuff would do, but they especially love the Steelers, Packers, Bengals, Patriots, Raiders, and 49ers. Basically any team that has won a recent Super Bowl or has a Samoan playing for them. Lol. They also like the Ravens, but I refuse to encourage such habits. (GO STEELERS!!!!!)

Anyway, thanks so much for any help you can give!

My address:

Amber DeBardelaben
c/o WorldTeach
PO Box 5411
Pago Pago, American Samoa
96799