PIEDMONT — The Piedmont Emergency Relief Center is planning a “Drive for School Supplies” fundraiser tomorrow to help needy families in the Piedmont and Williamston communities.

PERC will be holding the school supply drive from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Fred’s in Piedmont and Williamston.

“Our goal has always been to help people as much as we are able to,” said PERC Executive Director Jed Daughtry. “The community has always been so generous. They (will) probably exceed any goal we had.”

Those eligible to receive the supplies include residents in the 29673, 29611, 29669 and 29697 area codes, those referred to PERC by the Piedmont Fire Department, and anyone referred by a church or business within the 29673 area code.

 “This school supply drive’s success is dependent on the communities of Piedmont, Pelzer, Williamston, Greenville and Easley,” said PERC volunteer Tonya Jones.

PERC requests that recipients volunteer for at least one hour — even from those who are unemployed.

Daughtry points out that volunteering at PERC will look good on a resume.

“Employers are going to want to see more than that you just collected an unemployment check,” Daughtry said.

Last year was PERC’s first school supply drive, which it held at the Wal-Mart in Easley.

Based on school supply lists, PERC recommends the following school supplies be donated: crayons, markers, three-ring binders, colored pencils, folders, spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, filler paper, glue, pencils, pens, colored pencils, erasers, dry-erase markers, scissors, dividers, calculators (scientific, TI-83, TI-84, TI-89), flash drives, hand sanitizer, hand soap, tissues/Kleenex, paper towels, disinfectant wipes, highlighters, index cards, flash cards, cardstock, clipboards, dictionaries, pencil boxes, protractors, rulers, modeling clay, sheet protectors, pencil bags and pencil sharpeners.

The “Drive for School Supplies” is similar to PERC’s food drives and follows the same policies.

Families are eligible to receive donations if they can demonstrate a government-determined need, such as food stamps, free/reduced lunch, disability, unemployment, etc.

PERC is open on Mondays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m.-7 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

“What do we need at PERC? Pretty much everything,” Daughtry said. “We need food, we need volunteers, we need cash.”

In addition to its food pantry, PERC assists with food stamp applications, is an Angel Food ministries host site, and provides with referral services.

For more information about PERC, call 864-845-5535 during business hours or visit it online at www.piedmonterc.org.