With the start of the school year fast approaching, LifeWire is asking the community for help in providing school supplies to children and teens in need.

“Many of these children have never had the luxury of being prepared for the school year,” LifeWire executive director Barbara Langdon said in a statement. “They have been living in our homeless shelter, will be starting over at a new school, and as a result can have a hard time focusing on their school work because of the instability in their lives.”

Donors and businesses can purchase items or make an online donation at lifewire.org.The organization will collect items until Sept. 2 (Labor Day). Backpacks and supplies will be hand-delivered to LifeWire kids before school starts.

Donated items can be dropped off Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at LifeWire’s office in Bellevue and any day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at The Game Neighborhood Grill & Bar in Kirkland. For donations to LifeWire call or email Karen Jones, resource coordinator, at 425-562-8840 ext. 319 or karenjj@lifewire.org. TheGame Neighborhood Grill & Bar is located at 13510 100th Ave. NE.

School supply items needed include: Backpacks, #2 pencils, notebook paper, composition books, spiral notebooks, highlighters, memory sticks/flash drives, Post-it notes, erasers, headphones (for computer use), Ziploc bags (all sizes), colored pencils, 2-inch or larger binders, colored markers, Crayola crayons, markers, scissors, hand sanitizer, glue sticks (white), tape, calculators, rulers, tissues, folders, anti-bacterial soap, pencil boxes and 3-ring notebooks.