Letter: Community helped send 362 children back to school

To the editor,

Hastings Family Service helped 362 children from 182 families fill up brand new backpacks with school supplies for the upcoming school year.

The school supplies program is a staff favorite at Hastings Family Service. Children aren’t sure what to expect when they come to HFS for school supplies. But they walk in and a friendly volunteer greets them, and they see all of the brightly colored backpacks and begin filling one with everything they need. The kids leave transformed, confident and excited to start school. It is amazing how something as simple as school supplies can impact the life of a child.

We received a pleasant comment from a dad at the end of the process who thanked us and said, “My son said this was his best day ever. He got supplies and an ice cream cone!”

The generous support of the community brought many smiles. Numerous individuals made it a point to use a specific grade supply list and purchase those items and others gave monetary donations that helped us purchase the most needed items such as tissues, disinfecting wipes, dry erase markers, and glue. A handful of organizations even held school supply collections and drives to stock the shelves at HFS including Dugarel’s Bar and Grill, Hope Lutheran Church, and Regina Medical Center. One donor brought in an ice cream machine to give the kids an extra special treat.

Thank you to everyone who donated supplies and helped with distribution for this school year. Because of you, kids will go off to school smiling, excited, and ready to learn!

Chris Koop,

Hastings Family Service

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion, hastings, minnesota, spiral, local