Westminster Presbyterian Church will give away backpacks to a large number of Greenwood elementary school students on Aug. 5.
The church’s first Back to School Giveaway will be at the corner of West Johnson and Howard streets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with backpacks for students from Davis, Bankston and Threadgill elementary schools.
Organizers Meredith Buford and Betsy Belk said there will be tents, inflatables and a large banner saying “GO. LOVE. GREENWOOD Backpack and School Supplies Drive” so that nobody will be able to miss it.
Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served to 500 on a first-come, first-served basis, and backpacks will be handed out until they are all distributed.
Belk said her group will be distributing at least 1,000 backpacks.
School supplies collected in the drive will be donated to Davis, Bankston and Threadgill and distributed as the principal at each school sees fit. School supply lists are not handed out to students until the first day of school.
Coupons for backpacks will be handed out to all students at the three schools during their orientation sessions and must be presented at the event in exchange for a backpack.
Donations for the drive are being accepted at the church, 804 East Park Ave., and at many banks and businesses around town.
“To drop off at the church, people can come in the side door under the drive-through, and a donation box is inside the doors,” Buford said in an email.
At local businesses and banks, Belk said to “look for a blue box with a Back to School Drive flier on the front.”
Backpacks can be any style or color, and supplies needed include pencils, pencil pouches, one-subject notebooks, memo notebooks, loose-leaf paper packs, folders with pockets, crayons, washable markers, erasers, Kleenex, Germ-X, glue sticks, and blunt and rounded-tip scissors.
Buford and Belk estimate that it costs around $50 per child for a backpack and school supplies, based on prices at Wal-Mart and Walgreens.
Monetary donations are being accepted as well. Checks should be made out to Westminster Presbyterian Church with “Backpack and School Supplies Drive” in the memo section. Monetary donations should be dropped off or mailed to Westminster by Aug. 1 and marked “Attn: Backpack Drive.”
Westminster’s missions team wanted to serve the community this year according to the church’s mission “to influence the Delta for the glory of God.”
“As our team gathered, the idea was thrown out there and all decided it was a great way to impact children and families by providing them with a free backpack and to distribute shool supplies to each school to kick off their school year,” Buford said.
Buford and Belk said Westminster is excited to spearhead its first back-to-school drive, with future hopes that all local churches, organization and businesses in Greenwood can come together to serve all of the city’s schools and students “for the glory of God.”
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
