The fourth annual “Get Ready, Get Set for School, Health and Education Fair” took place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.
Shawnee school students and their parents gathered outside the old Wal-Mart building at Shawnee Mall as early as 7 a.m. to enroll, get meal tickets, physicals and, in some cases, free shoes.
Everyone eligible to receive reduced or free meal prices was offered a free pair of shoes for the family. Several brands were available including: Nike, K Swiss, Skechers, Converse and Kaepa. More than 2,000 pairs of shoes were donated and, after giving out 1,250 pairs last year, officials were expecting a large turnout for this year’s donation.
The registration desk had about 900 signatures on the sign-in sheets at 11:30 a.m. and volunteers said they were experiencing a slow down for the first time all day.
Not all of those attending the fair were eligible to get free shoes but the lines still reached from wall to wall and the wait time remained nearly an hour.
William Wilkins had been in line for 20 minutes with his grandchildren when he said he hoped it would be worth the wait.
“The shoes really help when we go to buy school supplies,” Wilkins said. “It’s just one less thing to get I guess.”
Other parents agreed that the long wait was worth worrying about one less thing with fewer than two weeks before school starts.
“You know it’s just one less thing to buy and you can get it when you enroll,” parent Meghan Bryce said.
Shoes were not the only convenience offered to parents and students in one place. Many athletes showed up to get free physicals for sports.
Many volunteers from the community, including school nurses, helped with physicals to prepare athletes for upcoming tryouts and sports seasons.
The physicals are good for the school year, Shawnee Middle School nurse Anna Rawdon said. “It saves many students the cost of a physical, which can get up to $100 and even if they have a cheap co-pay it still saves a little money.”
This was just one more convenience for Kelly and Lenny Moore and their two children. They arrived at 8 a.m. to enroll.
“It’s been a long day so far, but it is convenient to have it done in one day,” Kelly Moore said.
At noon, the couple was ready to leave and said they felt like they had accomplished a lot in the four hours that they were there.
“Teamwork is the key,” Lenny Moore said. “We tag team it and it goes much faster with both of us here.”
It may seem like a long, chaotic morning but when your kids can get enrolled, pick up meal tickets, and get any necessary vaccinations, it is well worth it to do it all at once, parent Christina Garcia said.
“We just moved here and we never had anything quite like this,” Garcia said. “I think this is really cool.”
With school creeping up on Shawnee students, there are more community activities to watch for over the next week to help prepare for the first day Aug. 13.
The Shawnee Salvation Army will host its “Back to School Basics” distribution days Aug. 5 and 6. New backpacks filled with basic school supplies will be handed out to eligible students.
“If you were eligible for reduced or free meals or free shoes you will also be eligible for the basics distribution,” Director of Social Services Diane Collins said.
“School supplies are up this year and if I had to go out today and buy them it would be difficult for a single mom to provide school supplies for all her kids,” Collins said.
Included in the backpacks will be supplies like: paper, pencils, crayons, glue, pens, markers and a zipper pouch.
“These are just the basic supplies, but it will make a difference for many of these families,” Collins said.
If planning to attend one of the Salvation Army distribution days, bring a few items to receive backpacks. Picture identification will be needed, social security cards for each child, verification of address and income and verification of food stamps or other assistance programs received.
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The fourth annual “Get Ready, Get Set for School, Health and Education Fair” took place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.
Shawnee school students and their parents gathered outside the old Wal-Mart building at Shawnee Mall as early as 7 a.m. to enroll, get meal tickets, physicals and, in some cases, free shoes.
Everyone eligible to receive reduced or free meal prices was offered a free pair of shoes for the family. Several brands were available including: Nike, K Swiss, Skechers, Converse and Kaepa. More than 2,000 pairs of shoes were donated and, after giving out 1,250 pairs last year, officials were expecting a large turnout for this year’s donation.
The registration desk had about 900 signatures on the sign-in sheets at 11:30 a.m. and volunteers said they were experiencing a slow down for the first time all day.
Not all of those attending the fair were eligible to get free shoes but the lines still reached from wall to wall and the wait time remained nearly an hour.
William Wilkins had been in line for 20 minutes with his grandchildren when he said he hoped it would be worth the wait.
“The shoes really help when we go to buy school supplies,” Wilkins said. “It’s just one less thing to get I guess.”
Other parents agreed that the long wait was worth worrying about one less thing with fewer than two weeks before school starts.
“You know it’s just one less thing to buy and you can get it when you enroll,” parent Meghan Bryce said.
Shoes were not the only convenience offered to parents and students in one place. Many athletes showed up to get free physicals for sports.
Many volunteers from the community, including school nurses, helped with physicals to prepare athletes for upcoming tryouts and sports seasons.
The physicals are good for the school year, Shawnee Middle School nurse Anna Rawdon said. “It saves many students the cost of a physical, which can get up to $100 and even if they have a cheap co-pay it still saves a little money.”
This was just one more convenience for Kelly and Lenny Moore and their two children. They arrived at 8 a.m. to enroll.
“It’s been a long day so far, but it is convenient to have it done in one day,” Kelly Moore said.
At noon, the couple was ready to leave and said they felt like they had accomplished a lot in the four hours that they were there.
“Teamwork is the key,” Lenny Moore said. “We tag team it and it goes much faster with both of us here.”
It may seem like a long, chaotic morning but when your kids can get enrolled, pick up meal tickets, and get any necessary vaccinations, it is well worth it to do it all at once, parent Christina Garcia said.
“We just moved here and we never had anything quite like this,” Garcia said. “I think this is really cool.”
With school creeping up on Shawnee students, there are more community activities to watch for over the next week to help prepare for the first day Aug. 13.
The Shawnee Salvation Army will host its “Back to School Basics” distribution days Aug. 5 and 6. New backpacks filled with basic school supplies will be handed out to eligible students.
“If you were eligible for reduced or free meals or free shoes you will also be eligible for the basics distribution,” Director of Social Services Diane Collins said.
“School supplies are up this year and if I had to go out today and buy them it would be difficult for a single mom to provide school supplies for all her kids,” Collins said.
Included in the backpacks will be supplies like: paper, pencils, crayons, glue, pens, markers and a zipper pouch.
“These are just the basic supplies, but it will make a difference for many of these families,” Collins said.
If planning to attend one of the Salvation Army distribution days, bring a few items to receive backpacks. Picture identification will be needed, social security cards for each child, verification of address and income and verification of food stamps or other assistance programs received.
