MORGANTOWN — It ain’t easy picking out a back-to-school backpack.
Particularly when there are about 1,400 of them laid out before you.
What color? How big? Designs, characters … no, yes?
It’s almost too much for a kid to handle.
But an estimated 730 students of Monongalia County Schools — well over 1,000 kids total with brothers and sisters factored in — took it all in stride Friday as the Pantry Plus More program hosted a Back to School Bash at North Elementary.
The goods and services on offer was comprehensive, ranging from haircuts — an estimated 500 were provided by 10 barbers/stylists — dental screenings, hygiene products, schools supplies, new clothes, library cards and lots of food.
It’s estimated that more than 38,000 pounds of food, including fresh produce, was passed out by the Mountaineer Food Bank.
You could even grab an ice cream cone on the way out.
All of it free of charge and pulled off by an army of nearly 100 volunteers.
“We want kids to have everything they need to be able to succeed in school, but also we want them to have that feeling of excitement going back with all the new school stuff they got to pick out,” Pantry Plus More President Roark Sizemore said. “We don’t want any kids going to school worried about whether they’re going to have a new backpack or clothes or whether someone will make fun of their hair for being too long.”
More than 250 kids were lined up and signed up a half hour before the doors opened.
Once inside, they made their way from spot to spot — folders, paper and dry erase markers in one room; pens, pencils and cases in the next. Notebooks and tissues in the room across the hall.
Holly Perando and her crew of three boys were loaded down with gear as they headed for the exit.
“This is just way more than I expected. I thought it was a free backpack and maybe a haircut, but there’s just so much more with the clothes and food,” she said, estimating the event likely saved her well over $200. “People don’t realize how expensive it is to get a kid ready to go back to school, let alone three.”
Tweet @DominionPostWV.
