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Two back to school drives are being planned this weekend to help local students and their families.
From 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Reach of Cherokee & Graham Counties plans to distribute school supplies to the first 100 kids in attendance. The thrift store will also be holding a $5 bag sale all day to help parents get high-quality clothing for a good deal to start off the school year. More than 12 additional resources will be set up at the event to help provide information and support for people in the community.
The next day – from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday – the Cherokee County Department of Social Services in Ranger will hold a fun, family friendly back to school bash at 4800 U.S. 64 W. There will be free school supplies, free food, a bounce house and much more.
During the Reach event, organizers will also be giving out socks and underwear to children in the county, something the nonprofit aims to do year-round.
“One out of three students struggles with hygiene poverty. This can cause students to feel shame and anxiety that results in avoidance behavior, which can severely impact their performance in school,” said Matthew Crawford, marketing coordinator/advocate for Reach.
“By providing these items to the students in the community, we hope to give students confidence to do well in school and recognize they can trust adults to talk about things that may be happening at home,”
Reach works closely with local organizations, schools, teachers and counselors to help meet needs seen in the community and school system.
“We help with hygiene products, socks and underwear year-round,” Crawford said. “At times, we’ve helped to provide food to families in need.”
Reach’s ultimate goal is to focus on prevention, meaning they want to meet the needs in the community before people are adversely affected.
“We want the community to know we are here and that we care; they just have to reach out to us. We want to see families be successful and always try to do what we can to help them reach their goals,” Crawford said.
“If we can’t directly help, we will help you find an organization or resource that can. We’re all working together to better Cherokee County. You’re not alone here.”
Reach of Cherokee & Graham Counties is still accepting donations for this event and accepts donations year-round of school supplies, underwear, and socks for children and adults, along with various hygiene products that are given out to children and families. Reach also accepts monetary donations.
Details: Reach is at 1980 U.S. 64 W. in Murphy. Call 828-837-8064 or visit reachofcherokeecounty.org.