Greenwood mother India Mickey lost her job earlier this year, and didn’t know if she would be able to buy her son’s school supplies before school started again this year.
She then found out about Fast Track, a United Way of Johnson County program that collects school supplies for families who otherwise may not be able to afford the items for their child’s first day of school.
“It’s the difference in them having and not having,” Mickey said. “We wouldn’t be able to get what they need without it.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
As families prepare for classes to start in the coming weeks, more than 2,000 families have been invited to attend Fast Track events throughout the county. At each event, families will receive backpacks filled with supplies, ranging from pencils to binders. Local organizations also set up at the events to let families know about resources available to them.
On Thursday night, families lined up at Westwood Elementary School in Greenwood, where 288 students left with backpacks full of supplies.
“It just helps with the beginning of the year stuff because nothing is cheap,” said Kara McClara, who has two kids attending Greenwood Middle School in the fall.
Ammie Brown said her family looks forward to this event every year.
“After a car payment and a mortgage, we can’t afford all these school supplies,” Brown said. “It helps out a lot. So, we’ll wait in the heat just to get it.”
Twelve different agencies had booths set up in the school, and families could talk to them about the resources they offer to help kids and families. Organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Boy Scouts and Interchurch Food Pantry attended the event, United Way of Johnson County Executive Director Nancy Lohr Plake said.
The goal is to help families connect with these organization to see what services are out there for them, Lohr Plake said.
“It’s a neat way for parents to network with some other resources out there because I think sometimes, when I go through a vendor fair, I don’t realize the number of things that are out there to help people,” Westwood Elementary Principal Dave Ennis said.
Ennis, who has helped run the Fast Track event for the past two years, said the program is a great help for local families.
“It allows families to start the school year on the right foot and kids to start on the right foot with supplies and a bookbag,” he said. “It’s a nice way to get the year started in a positive fashion.”
