Back-to-school drives make the difference for Augusta families

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – It’s a little over a week from kids going back to school in Richmond and Columbia County.

With the new school year approaching, backpacks and school supplies are in high demand for many families.

RISE Augusta and Smile for Shay Foundation partnered up for the annual Back to School at The Hub & Books for Shay Event at The Hub for Community Innovation on Saturday.

It’s one of several community efforts to help gear up kids for school while also providing resources like literacy booths, after-school resources and free health screenings.

Parents like Melissa King said these efforts all make a difference for her kids and many others.

”When we were younger, we didn’t have back to school bashes all the time, there wasn’t enough in the community for those kinds of things for children to come to things like this and get the supplies they needed, or to even help them in general,” said King.

King said she relies on community back to school events to make sure she has enough supplies to support her kids through the school year.

”Sometimes supplies can be over 150 bucks, just depending on the location that you go to, and the supplies requested by the teachers in the schools throughout the year,” said King.

Event organizers and volunteers said well over 1,000 people came out on Saturday to enjoy the resources brought. They said the event really showcases the real want and need for community support in Augusta.

“The rising cost of what parents and families have to purchase for school just continues to go up. Anything we can do to help them get them started. We are also committed to making sure we provide supplies throughout the year because we know they run out,” said Betsy VanDeusen, AU Literacy Center.

New to Back to School at The Hub is the addition of the Books for Shay Event.

It’s one of several efforts from the Smile for Shay organization. The non-profit organization was created by the family of Shaylin Foster. She was a student at Grovetown High School when she was killed in a car accident in 2018.

One of her main passions was reading books. In honor of Shaylin, the Foster family gives back through donated books every year. Donated books from Smile for Shay were given out throughout the event for families to pick up.

The event started at 10:00 a.m. and finished at 1:00 p.m.

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