(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -Going to school without enough supplies is a feeling Dustin Riggles said he knows too well.
“I had like half of this when I was in school, if that. I didn’t have school supplies when I was in school,” Riggles said.
Riggles now owns his own construction company and said he’s much better financially than ever before.
“I got everything I want,” he said. “So, I might as well give back.”
Riggles started collecting supplies in the middle of summer. His friend and fellow business owner, Jim Johnston, heard of the idea and offered to help.
“My business runs off the community and I've been so grateful this year with everybody supporting my business, so I just decided to give back,” Johnston said.
Riggles said the final count of supplies includes about 2,000 boxes of crayons, close to 1,000 boxes of colored pencils, more than 600 notebooks, hundreds of binders and more. Local organizations, such as the Johnson Foundation, donated supplies and several businesses donated funds for Riggles to buy materials.
"There had a big aisle at Wal-Mart about the size of my truck, full of random school things. I pretty much emptied the whole entire thing at Wal-Mart,” he said.