Students attending the Back-to-School Fair on Saturday at Kansas City Kansas Community College will receive backpacks this year, in addition to school supplies.
It’s been about five years since the event included backpacks. At the Back-to-School Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, there will be free school supplies, free immunizations, physical exams, free student haircuts, free vision screenings and glasses, free dental screening, free snacks and access to community resources for students who live in Wyandotte County.
McDonald’s owners and operators have donated 3,000 backpacks to this event, said Lisa Essig, the owner-operator of McDonald’s restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri, the Liberty, Missouri, area and in Bethany, Missouri.
“It’s really just a way for us to give back to the community, especially at this time of year,” Essig said. Parents have a lot to handle at this time of year, and “we want to be a good neighbor,” she said.
About 138 McDonald’s restaurants in the Kansas City area joined together on this project, with the help of the Trozzolo public relations firm, she said.
Besides the backpack project, the McDonald’s co-op does a lot of work with the Ronald McDonald House, she said.
In addition, the restaurants sponsor McTeacher Night, where teachers from a sponsor school come into the local restaurant, and the restaurant donates proceeds from the dinner sales to the school’s project, she said.
Many of the McDonald’s restaurants also participate in “Coffee with a Cop” to help law enforcement with community outreach, she said.
Many volunteers are working on the Back-to-School Fair through the United Way.
Students who attend public and private schools may attend the fair. Parents must provide proof of residence in Wyandotte County. Parents are required to bring their children. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/WyandotteCountyBackToSchoolFair/.