Back to school? It’s a jam for local students

by: Carman Peterson
cpeterson@barrowcountynews.com
August 7, 2011

Hundreds of Barrow County students got a helping hand with their back to school shopping through the annual Back to School Jam, a collaborative effort between Barrow County Family Connections/Communities in Schools and Barrow County School’s Family Academy, held Friday morning.

The Back to School Jam provides free school supplies to students from Kindergarten to high school. Although students or their parents had to provide proof of Barrow residency to take part, no other qualifications or pre-registration was needed.

"It’s open to anybody who wants to come out," said BCS social worker Shannon Derrick. "With the economy the way it’s been, the last few years it seems like there’s been a desperate need for parents with school supplies."

"One of the things we want people to do is get off to a good start," added BCS employee Andrea Lott. "Things are hard right now, and school supplies, unfortunately, are very expensive. We wish we could do more, but we’ve done well with the [donations] we had and I think that will make a nice dent."

Read the full article in today's print edition.