A Back-to-School Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Jewell Center at Kansas City Kansas Community College, 7250 State Ave.
The fair this year is prepared to serve 3,000 children, said Arlana Coleman, chair of the event. Last year there were just under 2,000 children attending the event. The event will be held at only one location this year. In past years, students started lining up as early as 6:30 a.m.
At the event, any Wyandotte County student in kindergarten through high school may receive a free backpack and school supplies, she said.
Parents must accompany the student, and they need to bring proof of being a resident of Wyandotte County, such as a driver’s license or utility bill. Students may be from Kansas City, Kan., Bonner Springs, Turner and Piper school districts, as well as from private schools in Wyandotte County.
Immunizations will be provided for students who need them, as well as sports physicals and vision screening, she said. Immunization cards should be brought, as well as exam forms for physicals.
Also, volunteers are providing haircuts, and if students want to get a haircut, their hair should be clean, she added.
Volunteers from Masonic Lodge 17 will grill hot dogs, and everyone will get a sack lunch to take with them, she said.
Some books also are being provided for students.
More than 50 organizations will provide information at tables at the event.
Coleman expects about 150 volunteers to participate in this event, including those who came out yesterday to help pack the backpacks, and those who will be there on Saturday to assist students.
Many community organizations are coming together to help with the Back to School Fair.
The organization received a $25,600 donation from the Hollywood Casino-Schlitterbahn charitable fund through the Unified Government this year, she said.
Ongoing support for the event has been received from Blue Cross-Blue Shield, the Board of Public Utilities, Kansas Gas Service, KCKCC and other groups, she said. United Way of Wyandotte County is the fiscal partner for the Back-to-School Fair, and is coordinating the volunteers.
Other donors include Culver’s, which allows them to do fundraisers, the Kansas City, Kan., Women’s Chamber of Commerce, McAnany, Van Cleave and Phillips, Sumner High School alumni, and Providence Medical Center.
Many organizations and companies have put out barrels and collected school supplies for this event, she said. Utility One Source is a new donor this year, bringing a lot of school supplies, she added.
KCKCC bookstore donated binders, and KCKCC students collected spiral notebooks and composition books for this event.
Doctors from the University of Kansas Medical Center have done physicals for several years at the Back-to-School Fair, and are planning to be there again this year.
This year, nurses from the Unified Government Health Department and the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools health department will be helping with immunizations.
And Providence Medical Center is an addition this year, helping with physicals and immunizations, she said.
