Helping Families Prepare for a Successful School Year!
Back to school shopping can be expensive, and many low-income families find that the costs simply outweigh their means. With this in mind, The Salvation Army in Fountain Square hosted two fun-filled back to school events over the past few days! The first event was a Community Fun Day that took place on Saturday, July 6th, and the second was a Shoe Give-Away that took place on Tuesday, July 9th. 
The Community Fun Day was a great opportunity for hundreds of children from the area to receive free backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies like notebooks, pencils, scissors and rulers along with a new school uniform. With free snacks, games and face painting, in addition to a resource fair for the parents there was enough going on for the entire family to enjoy. Local hairdressers and barbers were also in attendance giving free haircuts just in time for the start of a new school year.
The Shoe Give-Away that took place a few days later was an opportunity for more than 250 children to receive a brand new pair of shoes. The pre-selected families came from across the city and included children living at The Salvation Army's homeless shelter in downtown Indy, students identified by local schools as having the most need, and participants in The Salvation Army's low-cost summer day camp programs at local corps community centers. This long-running program was made possible through the generosity of Mrs. Lewis, a donor with a heart for the ministry of The Salvation Army and love of the Fountain Square neighborhood.
"We are so appreciative to our community partners, volunteers, donors and vendors for helping to make both of these events possible," said Sharon Mack, Social Services Case Manager for the Fountain Square corps. "Every day many of the low-income families we serve struggle to meet their basic family needs. Providing a backpack, school supplies, and a new pair of shoes makes a big difference to families already struggling just to provide the basic food, clothing and shelter for their families. It also gives our students a sense of accomplishment when they start the first day of school ready and prepared to learn, having the supplies they need and not having to worry about being unprepared or out of uniform."
Visit our Flickr page here to find pictures from the Community Fun Day!
Visit our Flickr page here to find pictures from the Shoe Give-Away!