Tools for School helped level the playing field for over 800 Newaygo County students on Tuesday, August 15th, when they all received brand new backpacks, full of the school supplies they’ll need to start the year off right. Depending on each student’s age, backpacks included items such as folders, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, notebooks, pencil boxes, erasers, highlighters, glue, scissors and more.
Students and families were able to access vital information and services from several TrueNorth programs, and many local organizations, including – Arbor Circle, Corewell Health, DHHS, Fremont District Library, Girl Scouts Michigan Shore to Shore, Junior Achievement, Michigan Public Service Commission, Molina Healthcare, Newaygo Day Care Corp, Newaygo Promise, Telemon Corporation, and Youth Attention Center.
In addition, students were able to receive dental checkups, and vision exams, from the Child and Adolescent Health Center. Some students even left the event with fresh haircuts, thanks to local hairstylist Raven, from Hair by Raven. Youth also enjoyed outdoor fun including a bounce house, face painting, free book giveaways from the Newaygo County Great Start Collaborative, and even animal visits with pet turtles and a bunny!
“Having enough school supplies is vital to a students’ success in the classroom.” said Mike Voyt, Children’s Services Director. “We want to make sure that all students start the school year off on a level playing field, excited and ready to learn.”
Additional backpacks will be distributed to area schools in the coming weeks, and in the end, we will serve over 1,000 students this year. Tools for School is supported by the Fremont Area Community Foundation, The Gerber Foundation, Choice One Bank, and community contributions and volunteers.