Parents in Clinton and the greater Henry County area who struggle to purchase back-to-school supplies are fortunate to have a team of champions on their side. The annual Back-to-School Fair coordinates the efforts of multiple individuals, organizations, and businesses throughout our community, who all want to give what they can to make sure our students have the supplies they need for a successful start to the school year.
Making sure Henry County students have necessary school supplies has been a passion project for Shauna Smith, and her fellow members of the Clinton Mid-Day Optimists, for more than 10 years. The means of accomplishing that project have changed over the years, but the goal stays the same: whatever other challenges our students face throughout the day, at least school supplies shouldn’t have to be one of them.
The needed supplies are often acquired through a “Stuff the Bus” donation drive, but was less prominent this year, thanks to a welcome grant from the Truman Lake Community Foundation and generous donations from the Community Health Assessment Resource Team (better known by its acronym CHART) and other businesses in town, Mid-Day Optimists were able to purchase most of the needed school supplies outright, as well as disinfecting wipes, reusable water bottles, and other needed items donated directly to the schools. Remaining necessities were filled in with individual donations as in previous years. That solves the question of how those supplies are acquired, but… how does this “busload” of school supplies get to the kids?
Folks, if you’ve never experienced it, you might not believe just how much volunteerism goes into delivering school supplies to our local students.
Again, Smith and her band of volunteers have over 10 years of experience in making this happen, and it shows: each year, school supplies are gathered en masse and transported to the Benson Center, which is then converted to what is essentially an assembly line of school supplies. Pencils: here. Notebooks: there. Highlighters, rulers, crayons, colored pencils, folders–with and without brads, glue–stick and liquid–safety scissors, pointed scissors, three-ring binders, clipboards, compasses, protractors, and more, each in its designated place.
School supply lists from every school in Henry County–the majority of bags are for students in Clinton, but the Optimists don’t stop at city limits–have been prepared based on the required pre-registration forms. Volunteers are assembled: take a bag and a school supply list. Fill the bag with all the supplies on the list, drop it off there to be organized, take another bag and another list and make another lap. Experienced volunteers know to wear sensible shoes and often pedometers.
This year, 450 bags of school supplies were assembled, one by one, by a team of about 20 volunteers. Sound like drudgery? It could be, but somehow, it’s not: the hours-long event maintains a festive, convivial atmosphere throughout, with volunteers smiling and exchanging jokes as they exchange bags of school supplies and as they bump elbows selecting supplies–and that’s not even the Back to School Fair itself, just the preparations for it.
The Back to School Fair itself is organized with similar levels of meticulous organization refined by years of experience. Volunteers–new and experienced, young and old–are assigned roles. Vendors are placed along wide aisles to prepare their activities and prizes. A deep breath to prepare and… the doors open, the families arrive, and the real fun begins. According to Smith, “the best part of the Back to School Fair is when kids open [their bags] up and they’re excited about paper, and pencils…they got glue, they’re happy!”
Bright Futures-Clinton is another organization working to help the kids in our community succeed scholastically, and a prominent presence at the Back to School Fair. This year, volunteers assembled bags with hygiene items, socks, underwear, and even shoes. Teresa Howard, one of the social workers embedded in Clinton School District, expressed her gratitude for “the amazing community we have here that comes together to support our students, and that’s what Bright Futures-Clinton is all about. We all want the kids in our community to succeed, and it’s wonderful that we have so many generous people willing to make sure they have the opportunity to do so.”
Smith added, “I love that it’s not just adults we have willing to help; I really love that we have volunteers who are kids themselves, who want to help their peers be ready for the school year. They know they’re doing something that makes a real, positive difference for people their own age, in their own community, and that’s absolutely awesome to see.”
The Back to School Fair is today, August 3rd, at the Benson Center from 4-6. School supplies will be distributed, smiles will be exchanged, and once it’s all over, a well-deserved rest will be taken–for a short while. School starts in just a couple weeks, after all, and more help is always needed.
Bright Futures-Clinton is currently accepting volunteers; Howard recommends liking their Facebook page for an overall view of how they help students in our community and reaching out to individual school buildings–Clinton Early Childhood Center, Henry Elementary, Clinton Intermediate School, Clinton Middle School, and Clinton High School–to speak with the building’s social worker for more information about they can help as a volunteer.
The Mid-Day Optimists are also accepting new members: they have a Facebook page as well and meet the first and third Wednesday of each month at noon (hence the name). As Smith says, “the more people we have, the more we can help out the kids.” And if you’re not quite ready to join, believe me: they’ve always got room for more volunteers.
As summer winds to a close and the students face the upcoming school year with that mix of anticipation and trepidation we’ve all experienced at some point, it’s good to remember that no matter what challenges they face, there are entire teams of people willing to jump in to help overcome those challenges–together, as a community, with a smile.
By Adrianne Nichols, staff writer
