Hundreds of people wait in a line the length of a city block Saturday for the Kids 4 Christ Back 2 School Blast in LaFayette, Ga.
Photo by Timothy BradfieldFIND OUT MORETo find out more about Kids 4 Christ go to www.k4c.info/
LaFAYETTE, Ga.-With the start of the school year just ahead-classes in Walker County begin Thursday-several hundred parents and their children turned out for some free school supplies.
On Saturday, the nonprofit Christian ministry Kids 4 Christ held its ninth annual Back 2 School Blast. It handed out well over 300 backpacks loaded with spiral notebooks, paper and pencils, thanks to generous donations from the community.
“I think this is the earliest they’ve lined up and the longest the line has been,” said Gail Marks, the organization’s founder and director.
LaFayette father of two Adam Fink said this is the first time he has attended the event. And he’s glad he did.
“With the way the checklist for school [supplies] has been going … it’s hard to come up with enough money to get everything,” Fink said.
And then there were the repeat customers, like 12-year-old Thalea Scott who attends LaFayette Middle School. She learned about this good deal several years ago.
“I think it’s cool,” Scott said.
Officials at the ministry said their target audience is children who live in LaFayette, but that people came from as far north as Rossville and as far south as Chattooga County to take them up on their offer of free school supplies and book bags.
“We have actually had teachers call us and say, ‘We have a kid here with a paper sack. Can you help us out?'” Marks said.
And for the first time this year, children were offered free haircuts by professional stylists who provided their skill and clippers.
“If you stop and you think, and you’re a single mom … you’re talking a whole bunch of money,” Marks said. “This really helps them out, not to have to buy the backpacks, not to have to get the haircuts.”
The free school supplies helped out Hannah Deal. The LaFayette resident, who has two children in school, says she is holding down two jobs these days, after her husband lost his job.
“I’m very impressed to see people still have the heart to help people,” Deal said.
Timothy Bradfield covers Walker County. Contact him at timothyb2010@gmail.com.