We had the last of four back-to-school parties last night. We had over 20 volunteers and 50-60 children come. Lots of food, fun, and games! We even had nursery volunteers so that Tallula and Beckett and other children had a place to go, while their parents volunteered.
My favorite family had 7 children to get back-to-school supplies for. They had 4 going in high school, 2 in middle school and 1 in elementary school. I was helping at check-out and went through the boxes and boxes of supplies they had picked out to make sure they had everything they needed. I saw that they only had 5 backpacks. I had checked off a need for 7 children, so I asked where the other 2 backpacks were. They said they didn't know where they would be living when school started, so they used generic high school lists for their older children, but they had not picked out ANY supplies for their younger children because they did not have a list for them. They were so grateful when 2 volunteers went through the line for them and collected the supplies a typical 3rd and 6th grader would need. So glad that we could help them, and didn't let them leave without making sure all of their children would receive supplies.
Can you imagine school starting in 2 weeks and not knowing where your children will be going because you don't know where you will find shelter. I know we cannot solve all of their problems, but we did help restore some sense of normalcy and eased their minds a bit, because their children will start school somewhere and they will start school prepared because of this program.
For our family and friends who helped collect supplies and donated their time and money....THANK YOU! You have truly made a difference in these children's lives!
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