As summer vacation comes to a close for area students, one local nonprofit is helping students prepare for the upcoming school year.
The Moniteau County Alliance for Kids hosted its annual Back to School Fair early last week at California High School. While some volunteers helped prepare and distribute goody bags filled with school supplies and personal hygiene products, others at a separate station handed out free backpacks.
Michele Stufflebean, board president for Moniteau County Alliance for Kids, said more than 15 volunteers prepared 500 bags prior to the event. Local businesses and individual donors provided funding to purchase the supplies. And Unilever donated personal hygiene products. Families from across Moniteau County with students of all ages benefited from the event.
Stufflebean said the idea for the annual event started when county residents and businesses wanted to come together and help local children.
"My understanding is some citizens and ... different business leaders came together and just thought 'What is something we can do to serve our community' and they wanted it to be child-focused," she said.
The event has evolved greatly over its first 13 years, she said. It included a health screening component, but organizers canceled screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"... (W)e nixed the health fair because we then found out that's kind of evolved over time," she said. "... It seems the school nurses are really doing that hands-on in each school now, so we figured we're not really depleting the families of anything, so let's just continue doing this (giving out supplies)."
In addition to nixing the health screenings, COVID-19 changed the format of the event. Stufflebean said the event was originally held indoors, but for the past three years has shifted to a "drive-thru" model.
"We've streamlined it since COVID," she said. "We tried to adapt and figure out how we can still serve our community despite COVID."
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Jennifer Millard, a volunteer at the Back To School Fair held from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday (July 26, 2022) at California High School, hands a bag of supplies to a parent.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Kaiden Shufflebean hands a goodie bag to a parent Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the Back To School Fair at California High School as others wait in line.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Olivia Hunt, a volunteer at the Back To School Fair held from 4-6 p.m. July 26, 2022, at California High School, asks a parent for information to get supplies ready for their children. The event allowed students from across Moniteau County to get free school supplies.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Kaiden Shufflebean hands a goodie bag to a parent Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the Back To School Fair at California High School.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Elynee Lemus, center, hands a backpack to a parent Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the Back To School Fair at California High School. Students of all ages from across Moniteau County were able to get free school supplies at the event.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller: Elynee Lemus hands a backpack to a parent Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the Back To School Fair held at California High School. Students of all ages from across Moniteau County were able to attend to receive free school supplies.