Butler YMCA holds third back-to-school backpack giveaway
The new school year is right around the corner, and for some students, it’s already started. However, not all families can afford to purchase the many, many supplies their children need to make it through the school year — supplies such as backpacks, pencils, crayons and rulers.
One of those parents was Darlene Marler, who came to Butler YMCA’s Back-to-School Backpack Giveaway to pick up supplies for her two children, 9-year-old Emilla and 6-year-old Alexander.
“I'm just in a rough spot and need help,” Marler said. “This is just a great opportunity to help get the kids what they need for school.”
The Marlers were just one of many families who lined up at the Butler YMCA on Thursday afternoon to pick up free backpacks and school supplies.
Each backpack was loaded with enough school supplies to last through the year. These included notebooks, folders, crayons, pencils and, of course, the backpack itself.
It was the third annual Butler YMCA backpack giveaway, a tradition that started in 2021, just before children returned to in-person learning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We started doing it after the pandemic, when kids were going back to school,” said YMCA membership manager Heidi Bowser. “We thought that they should have supplies that they might not have had during the pandemic.”
During Wednesday’s giveaway, each child was limited to one backpack or supply bundle to ensure that as many families as possible would come away with something.
Bowser estimated that the YMCA collected between 75 and 100 backpacks, and there were additional bundles of supplies available, in case backpacks ran out.
“If we don't have enough backpacks, we definitely have enough school supply bundles,” Bowser said. “We’ll see how it goes. We're gonna stay here until five o'clock no matter what, and we’ll make sure the kids get something.
Those at the front of the line had first dibs on what design of backpack they wanted. Aliyhaa Hankins, 6, got a pink Disney Princess backpack, while Noveah Halstead, 5, walked away with a dinosaur design.
Bowser said that this was the most popular of the three YMCA backpack giveaways that have been held so far.
“We had a big line of people even before we basically started,” Bowser said. “We didn't have people lined up last year at the start of it.”
The YMCA collected the backpacks and other supplies thanks to a donation drive which lasted throughout the summer. Individuals, companies and organizations from around the county chipped in to help.
These included the Geiser Center, Covenant United Presbyterian Church and Union Home Mortgage in Seven Fields.
