Cancun, Quintana Roo — More than 4,000 people have joined the annual school supply drive “Tus útiles aún son útiles” (Your Supplies Are Still Useful), organized by the nonprofit Pepe Nice in the Mexican Caribbean.
The campaign collects used notebooks, books, magazines, encyclopedias, and other school materials at the end of the academic year, which ends July 15. The items are sorted: notebooks with clean pages are repurposed into new school kits, while books in good condition go to community libraries.
“Paper that is completely destroyed or scribbled on is sold to recyclers, and the money is used to buy brand-new school supplies for donation,” said Alejandra Corona Contreras, director of Pepe Nice.
The drive also accepts incomplete items such as colored pencils and geometry sets. Corona noted that each school kit costs between 500 and 600 pesos (about $25 to $30) to assemble, and the group delivers 35 to 50 kits annually, along with physical improvements to community centers.
The campaign runs from June to August in partnership with local businesses, which set up temporary collection points across Cancun. Pepe Nice has also operated similar drives in Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
“If anyone knows of a community center in Cancun that would like to receive the benefit, please contact us,” Corona said. She emphasized that the program provides the full official school supply list required by schools, unlike some other aid programs that offer only a notebook, colors, and a geometry set.
