Daycare Owner Rescues School Supplies from Dumpster
On the eve of opening her home daycare, Parish Banks faced the challenge of securing necessary supplies for her students. Her dilemma found a resolution through a Facebook post announcing a dumpster filled with school materials outside Carlos Fuentes Elementary School in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.
The post, appearing Sunday night, revealed that the dumpster contained discarded classroom items such as decor, chapter books, art supplies, toys, and textbooks. These supplies were crucial for Banks’ Pristine Leadership Academy, a daycare located in Grand Crossing, slated to open Tuesday.
After a 30-minute drive to the school, Banks eagerly collected books, arts and crafts supplies, table organizers, and bins, describing her find as a “blessing.” She expressed to the Tribune, “This was needed. A lot of this stuff I’ve had to buy and get off Facebook Marketplace.”
This incident sparked online conversations regarding the burden on parents to buy new school supplies each year, despite excess materials being discarded during summer. The reason for the School’s disposal of these supplies remains unknown, as Chicago Public Schools did not comment.
As school supply prices have risen, many comments criticized the wastefulness, suggesting these materials could have been donated to educators. Prices for school supplies increased by over 10% since July 2023, as previously reported by the Tribune.
Meanwhile, Illinois plans to reduce sales tax on school materials temporarily, from August 7 to August 16. The National Retail Federation estimates that families will spend around $863.86 on back-to-school items in the current year, a small rise from the $858.07 spent in 2025.
Banks faces high expenses in running her daycare, noting the costs of both storage items and supporting a play-based curriculum. She said, “Now to do play-based things and have a curriculum at that level, it is expensive.”
“I’m over here dumpster diving for these books… getting these things for my young Black and brown people on the South Side of Chicago,” Banks noted.
Ashley Di Bella, who posted the picture of the dumpster, explained her intent was to reduce waste by alerting people about usable supplies. “Just come and get it. Let’s try to get it out of the landfill,” Di Bella commented on the public post.
Meanwhile, Banks began contacting individuals who might need these materials, even as she continued her search. She encouraged others, saying, “Girl, you need to get down here,” while showing the available resources over a video call.