2015 Back To School Celebration

 

Parents and K-8 school children lined up early on Saturday, 08/22/15, to receive backpacks loaded with school supplies for Kindergarten through 8^th grade children, as well as shopping bags loaded with fresh fruit, nutrition bars and health drinks.


Earlier in the week on Monday night Lions Terry Anderson, Keith Brown and Rich Montgomery and about 15 community volunteers unpacked pallets and boxes of about 600 backpacks and numerous school supplies needed students of the various elementary schools.


 

More volunteers arrived early on Saturday to help prepare the gym of the King Community Center.

 



Lion Terry Anderson, Lion Joe Serafini and his wife Nancy Serafini, and Lions Stacie Dixon and Rebecca Shriver took a quick photo break from filling shopping bags with healthy fruit, juices and snacks.

Mandatory Workshops

 

Parents were required to attend one or more of 4 available workshops and get their children’s backpack tickets punched before they could receive their school supplies.



Lions Rebecca Shriver and Stacie Dixon punched attendance cards for parents as proof of attendance for the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Development) college preparation workshop.

 



School District Superintendent, Lion Mike Schiffman answers parent questions in the “Meet the Superintendent” workshop.





Entertainment and Physical Fitness







While parents attended educational workshops, children K-8 were kept busy in the gym with wide-screen movies projected on the gym wall, and supervised games like jump-rope.

“Spin-er-cise” allowed children to spin a roulette-style wheel with various exercises listed on it, and then pick a partner to perform the actual fun exercises.

 

Free Eye Clinic

FHN (Freeport Health Network) nurses were on hand to provide free student eye exams.



Volunteer Lion Andy Skinner closed one eye and tried read the eye exam chart.



School Supplies Distributed

After the workshops concluded, anxious children and parents reunited and lined up for the backpacks and healthy food bags distribution. Lions Andy Skinner, Terry Anderson, Stacie Dixon, Rebecca Shriver and Keith Brown and a host of Boys & Girls Club volunteers moved as fast as they could to complete their tasks.

In a blur of final activity, parents of children K-8 lined up a backpack filled with school supplies for each child listed on their completed workshop tickets.

About 200 backpacks were distributed to local families. The packs and supplies were purchased using donations from local businesses and the Freeport Lions CIub. The remaining backpacks will be given to Freeport School District schools, which will pass them on to families in need.

For many single-parent families with multiple school-age children it would be a hardship to purchase (all the necessary) backpacks and school supplies that the various schools require every year.

 

Closing Ceremony

Former 3^rd Ward Alderman, Ronnie Bush, thanked everyone for their contributions, and introduced Freeport Mayor Jim Gitz who praised everyone’s efforts in making the Back-To-School Celebration an annual success for the school children and their parents.



Ronnie Bush, Lion Andy Skinner, Mayor Jim Gitz, Greg Briggs, Lion Rich Montgomery pose for a group photo during the outdoor festivities after the backpacks were distributed.

The Freeport Lions Club meets on the second and fourth Tuesday each month.
Our motto is "We Serve"
For more information contact (815) 541-5591. Like us? See: www.facebook.com/FREEPORTLIONS

(Freeport Lions Club publicity photos by Rich Montgomery, Publicity Committee)