Starke County students who need some assistance securing supplies before they head back to school can swing by the Pack-a-Backpack event.
The Kid’s Closet Ministry will be hosting their annual event tonight and tomorrow night at the North Judson United Methodist Church fellowship hall from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on both evenings.
In order to be eligible for the program, students must receive free or reduced lunch during the school year. Parents are required to have their child or children with them at the time of the supply pick-up.
They should also bring along an ID to demonstrate that they reside in the area and/or school registration forms to show that their student attends a Starke County school.
The way distribution works is that volunteers will be equipped with supply lists from the different schools and grade levels. Students will be able to select the list that applies to them and then a bag will be filled with all the supplies they need, according to Director Linda Lewandowski.
She added that while attending the event, parents can sign up to receive an in-home delivery of clothing.
Lewandowski said after the Pack-a-Backpack event, there will be approximately 350 children across the community signed-up to receive clothes through the program.
Due to the number of kids being assisted, there is a chance some deliveries won’t be made until October or November, depending on how many volunteers they have assisting with the process.
If you want to help out with the Kid’s Closet Ministry, you can assist in a number of ways. Volunteers are responsible for sorting through donations for the best quality clothing, doing laundry, folding, packing and making the deliveries.
Interested individuals can contact the North Judson United Methodist Church at 574-896-5927 and enter extension 4 to reach the Kid’s Closet line.
