Here’s where you can go to help schools in Pahrump and surrounding areas with supplies this year.

Inflation is pushing the cost of just about everything ever higher and school supplies are no exception, which means it is getting more expensive for parents trying to ready their children for the next school year, as well as for teachers who regularly dip into their own pockets to provide additional supplies for their students and classrooms.

But Valley Electric Association (VEA) is striving to ease that burden for schools all across its service territory and it is harnessing the power of community to do so.

Next weekend, VEA will be bringing the large buckets that are usually attached to its utility trucks and used to hoist linemen into the air to three local stores and the mission is straightforward: stuff as many buckets as possible full to the brim with all the supplies students might need to support their success in the 2026-2027 school year.

Dubbed the Fill the Bucket Truck School Supply Drive, this annual event has been making a difference in the lives of students for 19 years and will officially mark its 20th this month. In the past, residents have willingly seized the chance to band together to support the educational endeavors of local youth and co-op officials are optimistic that the Pahrump community will come through again this year.

Acting once more as hosts for the event will be the Pahrump Walmart, Albertsons and Smith’s Food and Drug stores, making it convenient for people to simply grab a few supplies to donate while doing their weekend shopping. Volunteers will be stationed outside the entrances to each store with complete lists of needed items, which range from pens, pencils, paper and glue to backpacks, notebooks, three-ring binders, tissue, sanitizing wipes, Ziploc bags and much more. And for those who may be busy during the event, supply donations are being accepted at the VEA Pahrump Office, 800 E. Highway 372, through Friday, July 24. Monetary donations can also be contributed, which will then be used to purchase even more supplies.

These essential items will ultimately be divvied up between various schools in Nye County, including all Pahrump, Beatty and Amargosa schools, as well as Sandy Valley schools and Dyer Elementary, to help ensure students have what they need this coming term.

“This is one of our favorite community events because it brings people together to support local schools,” VEA officials told the Pahrump Valley Times “We encourage everyone to join us to help Fill the Bucket Truck. Every donation stays right here in our communities, helping local students start the school year off right.”

The VEA Fill the Bucket Truck School Supply Drive is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25.

For more information, visit VEA.coop

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com