Dauphin County Commissioners, Northern Dauphin Human Services Center to hold annual back-to-school yard sales and First Day, Fresh Impressions program to help students in need get ready for school

ELIZABETHVILLE, PA (July 13, 2020) – Dauphin County Commissioners Jeff Haste, Mike Pries and George P. Hartwick, III and the county’s Northern Dauphin Human Services Center (NDHSC) are collecting school supplies and gift cards for their annual “Fill the Bus” campaign for students in need. The donations will be distributed at the free back-to-school yard sales and “First Day, Fresh Impressions” program.  

This year, items being collected are school supplies and Smart Style and Walmart gift cards.

“Please help us collect school supplies for children and teens who may otherwise not be able to afford them,” said Hartwick, who has oversight of the county’s Human Services Department and the NDHSC. “You can help students start the school year ready to learn.”

Donations will be accepted at the front desk of the NDHSC until Aug. 14. The annual three-day Fill the Bus event at Walmart in Elizabethville will not be held this year due to the pandemic.

“We’re extremely grateful to the many generous donors, volunteers, community partners and school districts for making this annual back-to-school drive possible,” said Haste. “Over the past several years, we have been able to help over 300 local students.”

First Day, Fresh Impressions has also helped many area students in need get ready for school. Students are taken shopping for clothes and shoes and can get a haircut or style using donated Walmart and Smart Style Salon gift cards.

The free back-to-school yard sales and First Day, Fresh Impressions programs are scheduled for the following dates:

  • For Halifax Area School District, the yard sales, organized by Valleys Evangelical Covenant Church, will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 14 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 15 at the Creekside building at Camp Hebron. Call Donna from Valleys Evangelical Covenant at 717-896-3118 to register for First Day, Fresh Impressions by Aug. 11.
  • In Millersburg School District, call Pastor Justin Gruber at 717-692-3904 to register for First Day, Fresh Impressions by Aug. 12.
  • In Upper Dauphin School District, the yard sale, organized by Trinity United Methodist Church, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Elizabethville Borough Park. To register for First Day, Fresh Impressions, call Bonnie at 717-905-2700 by Aug. 10.
  • For Williams Valley School District, the yard sale will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Ebenezer Church, 328 W. Market St., Williamstown. The rain date is Aug. 15. The back-to-school supply drive-through event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Ebenezer Church. Call Lucinda at 717-647-2956 to register for First Day, Fresh Impressions by Aug. 15.

“According to the Census Bureau, 1 in 5 students live in poverty,” said Pries. “We’re grateful for everyone who is stepping up to help students and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in school.”

The NDHSC, which coordinates these programs, is located at 295 State Dr. in Elizabethville.  For more information about this program or the center, please call 717-905-2700.