Three Kwantlen Polytechnic University students are blurring the lines between charity and business with their entrepreneurial start up that aims to provide 450 students in Delta, Surrey and 91原创 with school supplies this year.

鈥淲e kind of latched onto the idea of students helping students as a starting point,鈥� Tyler Carmont, Cloverdale resident and co-founder, said. 鈥淎nd then it was, let鈥檚 see what the need is.鈥�

The need, co-founder Matthew Wollin said, was for school supplies.

鈥淲e were really shocked and surprised when we started picking up the phone and calling elementary school principals,鈥� Wollin said. 鈥淲e got an idea of the scale of how many students in our communities here, especially in North Delta, are in a position of need.鈥�

In total, the group identified 450 elementary school students in need of school supplies at the start of the year: 85 in 91原创, 165 in Surrey, 155 in North Delta and 45 in South Delta. The students attend 25 different elementary schools spread across those communities.

That need is what spawned In-Need No-More.

鈥淎 lot of people look at school supplies and say, 鈥業t鈥檚 just school supplies. It鈥檚 colours, it鈥檚 crayons,鈥欌�� Wollin said. 鈥淎nd I think really the more critical need that we鈥檙e filling is the anxiety, it鈥檚 the confidence, it鈥檚 the encouragement.鈥�

In-Need No-More is an unusual small business, operating for profit, but with all of the founder鈥檚 wages being invested back into the company. After the operating expenses are covered, the rest of the money goes towards purchasing packages of school supplies for students.

鈥淲e realized that by being a for-profit business, we can start today, collect money and really have no operating or no start up costs,鈥� Wollin said. 鈥淪o that allows us to really efficiently deal with the process of getting supplies to students as quickly as possible.鈥�

They鈥檝e managed to do just that. About a week after the company鈥檚 official launch, the three students were able to deliver 202 packages of school supplies to 10 schools in the three communities.

The students are identified by the schools as needing supplies at the beginning of the year, but 鈥渢he students basically remain anonymous throughout all of this,鈥� Chad Nehring, one of the three men behind the business, said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no obligations on them, they just accept the supplies and then that鈥檚 where it ends.鈥�

Local businesses are the foundation of how those school supplies get to students. A business can decide to partner with In-Need No-More, spending $30 per package of school supplies for students in their area. In exchange, In-Need No-More will promote the business鈥� donations on social media, a tactic partner and local Realtor Randy Mann said will get more businesses involved.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a little competitive in our world as well,鈥� Mann said. 鈥淲hen we see someone else helping out, we like to give back as well.鈥�

The team plans to keep their company going until November, at which time they will reevaluate the format and structure of the company. By November, they鈥檙e hoping to get all 450 students the school supplies they鈥檙e lacking.

鈥淭his year, it鈥檚 just let鈥檚 learn as much as we can,鈥� Nehring said.

鈥淟et鈥檚 make something happen, figure out what works,鈥� Carmont added.

Next year, the trio could potentially relaunch as a non-profit or charitable organization 鈥� they aren鈥檛 sure what the format will look like. But they are planning to get started earlier in September, to make sure every student is well supplied with sharpened pencils to take on the school year.