Organizers with Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group, Inc. (TEEG) are gearing up for a big giveaway Saturday. It is the TEEG Backpack and School Supplies Distribution. Organizers are hoping to alleviate some of the stress on families as they send their children back to school.
Students will be able to choose items that specifically meet their needs.
"So imagine like Walmart on a small scale. So we set everything up like backpacks, binders, pens, pencils, notebooks, and we let the kids come and shop for the items that they need that they want," Chelsea French said.
The supplies that will be given away include:
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- Backpacks
- Pens/Pencils
- Scissors
- Rulers
- Erasers
- Notebooks
- Folders
- Binders
- Paper
- Glue
- Highlighters
Several organizations are teaming up with TEEG to make this happen. TEEG will also be giving students a free pair of new shoes. They will be able to choose the color.
Organizers have been working on situating things in the storage facility for more than a month now to ensure things are ready for Saturday.
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"We kind of got it down like clockwork now where we get it all set up and ready to go and then we have personal shoppers take the kids around and everybody just kind of feels good going through the school supplies because there's a lot of nostalgia when you are going through school supplies," French said.
Since school supply costs have increased, just like everything else, French said back-to-school shopping could get really expensive for parents and it is this organization's pleasure to support them.
"You can't get a backpack for less than 20 bucks, and they're not even like high-quality backpacks anymore. Crayons used to be able to get them for 10-cents to a quarter. Now the cheapest you can get them is fifty-cents when they're on sale," French explained. "It doesn't seem like a lot, but when you have four kids and each kid needs a package of crayons, they all need a backpack of binders and stuff."
The Generations Mobile Health Unit will be at the TEEG building on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Back to School Distribution as well for students who need a health screening.
The event will benefit students who live in Thompson, Woodstock, and Pomfret.
Organizers are asking parents to sign their children up before showing up Saturday. Click here to sign up.
The giveaway takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. To 2 p.m. at the TEEG building at 15 Thatcher Road in the North Grosvenordale section of Thompson.
