'You should see my garage – it's half full': Online initiative receives overwhelming support for Jasper students and teachers

Boxes containing school supplies will be donated to students and teachers before classes resume in Jasper on Sept. 17, 2024. (Supplied: Jessie Smeall)

An initiative to help students and teachers displaced from the Jasper wildfires is receiving overwhelming support online.

Jessie Smeall, the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) local president for Evergreen 11, took it upon herself to create an online wish list for school supplies to support students and teachers who will be returning to their schools in Jasper on Sept. 17.

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"With all of the unknowns in the situation and returning to school in Jasper, I had a teacher colleague reach out to me in hopes of creating a wish list for student and staff supplies to alleviate any additional stresses that would be coming through," Smeall told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.

The wish list came directly from the displaced teachers affected by the fires and some additional items suggested by Smeall's colleagues who went through similar experiences from the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016.

With the entire town displaced and a third of the buildings destroyed, Smeall, who lives in Hinton Alta., believes that having the school supplies ready before the return date would make for easier re-entry for students and teachers.

Donations started pouring in once the campaign went online and received a major boost in donations after the ATA shared the campaign to their social media, according to Smeall.

"You should see my garage – it's half full."Multiple boxes containing school supplies seen here will be donated to teachers and students before the return to classrooms on Sept. 17, 2024. (Supplied: Jessie Smeall)"Over a thousand purchased items ranging from pencils, pens all the way to Chromebooks … It's been so amazing to see that people are able to support as little or as much as they're able to and be able to help our staff and students with an easier re-entry."

Smeall said that "everyone is extremely grateful for the support" and impressed with the amount of supplies being donated.

"Schools are safe havens for many of our students, and our teachers take pride in creating those safe spaces. So if we can help them, that's then going to help our students."

To donate to the cause, visit the Amazon wishlist here.