The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
STUDENTS SCORE SUPPLIES
Harvey High hosts Back to School Bash
The bells for the 2019-2020 school year are not ringing just yet. That hasn’t stopped the community in and around the Painesville Local School district from coming together to help area school kids put their best foot forward. Painesville’s Harvey High School opened its doors to the community on August 3rd for a Back to School Bash.
The event was organized by Lake County Jobs and Family Services and Lake County Family and Children First Council. There was also close coordination with the Lake County Salvation Army. Together, the agencies endeavored to provide a comprehensive support system for school children and their families.
“We just wanted to see
The agencies endeavored to provide a comprehensive support system for school children and their families.
children get off to a good start to the school year,” said Council Coordinator for the Lake County Family and Children First Council, Suzanne Casar. “This is possible one hundred percent through donations only. We are so lucky to have the generosity of the community to make this possible.”
In previous years, the event was split between Harvey High School and the Painesville Salvation Army.
“To try and condense things and make it easier for families, we decided to have everything under one roof,” she explained.
In under an hour of the school door’s opening for the event, lines of families snaked around corners, and
a cacophony of eager voices echoed through the halls like the first day of school.
“Typically, we have around 1,400 children and their families. We’re hoping to hit around that same number this year”
During the day’s event, children took to the welcome distraction of fuzzy green mascot of the Lake County Captains, Skipper. The minor league mascot played games and posed for photos with children while parents tackled the bureaucracy of school forms and supply lists.
Among the services provided by the over 300 volunteers were haircuts, sports screening physicals from Lake Health, family photographs, and dental services through collaboration with Lakeland Community College and Northeast Ohio Dental Hygienist Associ ation. A new feature this year were immunizations available for seventh and
graders, as well as opportunities to schedule future immunizations with Lake General Health. The community resource area featured approximately thirty regional vendors who provided information on their services and referrals for interested families. The gymnasium was overtaken by the sheer volume of donated clothing available for children and families in need and hundreds of backpacks were stuffed with school supplies to take home.
“This event would not be possible without our volunteers,” she added. “Not only do we depend on volunteers for the day of the Back to School Bash, but we also depend on volunteers to assist us beginning in May to sort clothes and gather school supplies. We couldn’t do it without them.”