School supply drive helps Hurricane Harvey victims get back to classrooms

Posted: Sep 7, 2017 / 09:35 PM MDT

Updated: Sep 7, 2017 / 09:36 PM MDT

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AURORA, Colo. — Some schools in Houston are set to begin Monday, though many students likely will begin classes without the supplies they need.

Hurricane Harvey ripped through portions of southeast Texas, dumping historic rainfall on Houston. Thousands of homes flooded.

As families rebuild, many will likely be unable to afford to replace school supplies lost in the natural disaster.

“You feel kind of helpless. Because you think about your mom. You think about your family. You think about your friends and you’re like, ‘What can I do to help?’” said Mehran Ahmed, assistant principal at Aurora’s Gateway High School.

Ahmed was born and raised in Houston. He attended college nearby and began his teaching career there before moving to Colorado.

At the suggestion of Gateway principal Dackeri Davis, Ahmed reached out to his former school, Tanglewood Middle School in west Houston, to see if they needed help stockpiling school supplies.

“I think it would be really exciting to see a big blue truck show up with a trailer full of school supplies,” Ahmed said.

Gateway decided to host a school supply drive to try to replace some of what was lost during the hurricane.

“It’s going to take years to replace what’s happening down there and any little bit that we can do to help, we certainly are happy to do so,” Davis said.

The supply drive will run through 4 p.m. Sept. 14. Supplies can be dropped off to the main offices at Gateway High School (1300 S. Sable Blvd.) and Aurora Hills Middle School (1009 S. Uvalda St.).

Ahmed will drive the donations to Tanglewood Middle School in Houston on Sept. 15.

“We really want backpacks filled with school supplies,” Ahmed said.

The items requested include: