School supply giveaway scheduled for next weekend
Local children will soon be heading back to school and each year, several groups and organizations work to ensure students have the tools and supplies students need to focus on their education.
Among those groups are Meet Me at the Court and The Bailey Family, who will be hosting the eighth annual Sharion Bailey Whitlock From Court to Class School Supply Giveaway at 11 a.m. Aug. 14 in Mattocks Park.
Mattocks Park is located in the area of Detroit and Sharp streets.
Baily emphasized that the giveaway is open to all area children.
This year, MMC and The Bailey Family is partnering with the Sugar Town Riders and Sugar Town Queens motorcycle clubs and Dr. Steve and Nancy Owen to organize the giveaway.
“Yes, we have some partners this year and I’m excited for the children — that we’ll be able to help children and give them the tools to get their education,” said Veronica Bailey, founder and chief executive officer of Meet Me at the Court.
“Our goal is to help in any way that we can. That’s our goal,” Bailey said.
She emphasized that the giveaway is open to all local children and their families.
“We are overly excited for
(Aug. 14) and all children are welcome to come,. no matter where they live or what neighborhood or what area of town they’re from, they are welcome,” she said.
Organizers will give away backpacks and school supplies for children in grades K - 12. The event will also include free food.
“We will be serving pizza and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, chips and a beverage for all in attendance, not just for children but for parents too,” said Bailey.
She said more than 150 children received backpacks and school supplies during the giveaway in 2020 and organizers are hoping to help more children this year.
Any school supplies that are left over from the event on Aug. 14 will be distributed to children throughout the city, said Bailey.
“We will ride through neighborhoods and give them out … We’ll just ride through neighborhoods and pass them out with the Sugar Town Riders,” she explained. “We’ll just sit it on the porch for the child.”
She noted that MMC and the Bailey Family took similar actions with Easter baskets and other gifts that were left over from the Sharion Bailey Whitlock Proclamation and Birthday Weekend and Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza, which was held April 2 - 4.
“Me and my son (James Curley, president of the Sugar Town Riders, El Dorado chapter) don’t want to have any left over. We want to give it all to the children for their education,” Bailey said.
To receive school supplies, children and families need “only to bring themselves,” she said.
“All we’re asking is for their presence. You don’t have to bring any type of personal information or proof of anything,” she noted. “It’s also a time to fellowship with one another.”
Those who attend the event are encouraged to wear face masks and follow other safety protocols, such as social distancing, to help guard against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“We want to be safe. That’s why we picked the park this year. My son thought that if we have it in the park, that would give us enough room so that we could spread out more,” Bailey said.
With summer starting to wind down, Bailey said MMC is also looking ahead to upcoming events, adding that an announcement is forthcoming about the eighth annual Sharion Bailey Whitlock Good Food for the Body and Soul Thanksgiving Dinner.
The event is held each November in observance of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving and honors military servicemen and women, first responders and educators.
As with several other events, the dinner was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information about the school supply giveaway, call Bailey at 870-310-0391 or Curley at 870-310-0745.