Back-to-school fairs benefit hundreds locally

Jefferson City area organizations and churches rally each year to provide school supplies for families who have a difficult time affording it otherwise.

For more than a decade, First United Methodist Church has been partnering with Thorpe Gordon Elementary School providing school supplies, but recently, they also started collecting socks, underwear, shorts and sweatpants, said member Dee Dee Shelton.

The need for those clothing items at elementary schools isn't often thought of, but the school nurse keeps them in the office in case any students have accidents and need spare clothing. The items can be costly, and sometimes staff purchase them personally, so the church donates elastic, unisex shorts and sweatpants to help fill the need, she said.

Many church members have grown children and see the effort as a fun way to give back.

"A lot of people haven't had the opportunity to shop for school supplies in years," she said. "But it's fun for them. It's fun to see the little, old, elderly couple with a pink backpack over their shoulder."

They're not the only church that has partnered with a school, she said. Several other local churches - including First Baptist and First Christian - have a similar partnerships to help fill certain needs in the school.

Shelton is also involved with the women's organization, the Philanthropic Educational Organization, who's chapter is collecting school supplies for Pioneer Trail Elementary School.

"We were just talking about which school to adopt because we don't have an ongoing relationship with one, and we have a member who's been subbing out there," she said. "Pioneer Trail is also adding a lot of kids this year, and we thought it's the largest school in the district so we knew that would also come with the most need."

South Elementary School is hosting a back-to-school fair facilitated by Cole East Head Start - which falls under Central Missouri Community Action - for its second year.

Jennifer Millard and Kishia Brown started the fair last year and are doing it again by pre-registration only on Saturday. They're working with several local businesses, churches and organizations to collect supplies and shoes and will also be offering vision and hearing screenings, scoliosis checks, and height, weight and blood pressure checks. Families will also leave with coupons to the Exchange Boutique and a free hair cut coupon from Cost Cutter.

"We just felt like there wasn't a whole lot of this stuff going on in Jefferson City," she said. "We just felt like there was a need in the community to give school supplies and health screenings. We wanted families to know where their kids stood on things before school."

Registration for the fair was open to kindergarten through 12th-grade students, and supplies are bought based on the students who register, which is why attendees need to pre-register for the fair.

While there seems to be more elementary students who registered this year, Millard said they received a pretty good mix of students.

Last year they held it at the Cole East Head Start office building but decided to hold it at South School to accommodate a larger crowd. Approximately 150 registered last year, and 375 registered this year, she said.

Millard said they are hoping to host the fair again next year and will likely continue to offer it to pre-registered attendees so they can best fill the needs of the students who need come.