Salvation Army to host back-to-school spree for local kids

In order to help more families bear the expenses of back to school costs for their children, the Lodi Salvation Army will be hosting its annual Back to School shopping spree this Saturday at Walmart.

“We’re beginning a new school year, and anyone with kids understands the cost of getting school supplies and new school clothes every year,” Lodi Salvation Army Major Mark Thielenhaus said. “It’s a major expense in the household, so we want to be able to help as many families as possible that are trying to manage their funds well. It’s also important for the empowerment that comes when a child has the resources they need for a new school year. We want them to look sharp and have the tools they need for school.”

One hundred Lodi children will have the opportunity to shop for back-to-school clothes and when they’re done shopping, they will receive a backpack full of school supplies. The children are set to arrive at 6:30 a.m. and the shopping spree will kick off at 7 a.m.

“It’s like a cross between the first day of school and Christmas morning,” Thielenhaus said, describing what the atmosphere is like during the shopping spree. “Lots of kids line up outside and lots of parents, as well as lots of volunteers. All the kids are lined up and excited and get the blessing of the new school supplies. They’re probably thinking about that first day of school when they get to show off to their friends.”

Each child will be given $100 to shop with and a personal shopper will be assigned to assist them with their shopping. The personal shoppers will have lists of some of the items the children’s parents have said they need for school.

The Salvation Army recruits about 100 volunteers, so each child can have his or her own personal shopper.

“The Salvation Army here in Lodi is blessed with an amazing group of people behind us, some that just volunteer once or twice and a regular group of volunteers,” Thielenhaus said. “We have our Salvation Army Advisory Board and some of the committees regularly help us secure all the volunteers we need to pull off these events.”

The missions committee and Salvation Army’s social services director played a large role in securing the volunteers for the shopping spree.

Background checks have been done on all the Salvation Army’s regular volunteers. While those just volunteering for the spree might not have had a background check, Thielenhaus assures that monitors who have had background checks and are trained in child safety will be surrounding the child shopping area during the spree.

The Salvation Army has been hosting this event annually for more than a decade and registration for the event starts in May.

Once the children have been signed up, they must undergo an interview process with the Salvation Army’s social services team.

Through the interview, they verify incomes, make sure the child is from Lodi and determine what the child’s needs are. They also make sure the child has not been chosen for the opportunity in the past, to make sure they can spread the opportunity to as many families as possible. After the interview process, 100 children are selected to participate in the shopping spree.

Many parents and children are very excited and grateful to have the opportunity and make it known to the Salvation Army.

“On the day of and certainly shortly after, some of those clients that might be regulars for us that are trying to manage a limited income do regularly come back in to say how they appreciate what a benefit it is to get that $100 to help get the kids get equipped for the new year,” Thielenhaus said.

According to Thielenhaus, this year funds for the Salvation Army have been very tight and at one point, he even considered canceling the backto-school spree for the sake of the budget.

“We put out the word to some of our contacts and expressed the need, and many folks just thought it was an important thing to do,” Thielenhaus said. “With F&M and Walmart and a few other key donors that help to provide the money to pull this off, we were able to do it again this year.”

Church contacts were able to provide the backpacks and school supplies to give to the children.

“The event is being made possible by fantastic donors supporting us this year,” Thielenhaus said. “No extra money from our typical budget had to pay for it this year.”

Thielenhaus estimated the event cost more than $10,000 for the shopping spree, along with the school supplies the students received.

“It’s like a cross between the first day of school and Christmas morning . ... All the kids are lined up and excited and get the blessing of the new school supplies. They’re probably thinking about that first day of school when they get to show off to their friends.” MAJOR MARK THIELENHAUS, LODI SALVATION ARMY