Back to School Bash in a flash with Love INC

Getting your back-to-school supplies for the upcoming school year can be done in a flash thanks to the efforts of Love In the Name of Christ of Greater Holmes County.

Families with school-age children are invited to join volunteers with Love INC for the organization’s Back to School Bash on Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon at Love INC/Love Center Food Pantry.

Families of Holmes County will be able to shop the store for $5 per student, and in doing so, they should be able to arm their students with everything needed for the upcoming school year.

“This program has been a huge success. Students get to pick out the items they need for their class and choose the styles and colors they like,” said Vicki Conn, Love INC executive director. “This is making going back to school more affordable, and we will be having other opportunities and items available that day as well.”

While it may seem like students just got out of school and are celebrating the freedoms of summer vacation, Love INC is anticipating the last-second rush to collect school supplies and has turned its attention to helping students gear up for the 2023-24 school year.

The event is geared toward families and students attending schools in Holmes County and is being hosted in collaboration with Millersburg Christian Church, Pleasant View Mennonite Church and Love INC School Gap Ministries.

Love INC has obtained a list of every classroom from each school in Holmes County, which allows them to meet the needs for each individual student to perfection.

“A student can come in and say they are in a certain teacher’s class in a specific school, and we will have an exact list of items needed for that particular classroom,” Conn said.

The goal is to provide everything a student might need at their respective grade level including pens, pencils, notebooks, backpacks, ear buds, rulers, glue sticks, glue, dry-erase markers, binders, highlighters and more.

In addition, families can pick out personal care items at no charge thanks to Ripley Church of Christ and LEAF Baskets of Blessing Ministry. They also can purchase new packages of underwear and socks for $1 courtesy of Save & Serve Thrift Store.

While all of that is taking place at Love INC, there will be two additional stops that will provide even more savings. The second stop in the event is at Millersburg Church of Christ at 926 E. Jackson St. in Millersburg from 10 a.m. to noon, where kids can pick out new or slightly used quality clothing at no charge. The third stop is at Faith Bible Church at 7348 County Road 623 east of Millersburg from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., where kids can pick out shoes at no cost.

The price per student at the bash is a suggested $5 donation that will go toward future supplies, but that is a small price considering each student will receive more than $50 in school supplies.

While the cost of purchasing school supplies may not make a big dent in some family budgets, other households will feel the crunch of forking out $50 or more to purchase school supplies. Conn said that can get exponentially worse for larger families.

“You take that cost of around $50 to purchase everything a child needs for school and multiply it by three or four children in a home, and all of a sudden you’ve got a much bigger cost these families are facing,” Conn said. “We liked the idea of having parents pay at least something because that keeps them invested. But at a savings of about 90%, we think it’s a really sweet bargain, and we love the idea of helping out our families.”

In preparing to provide for students, Love INC is currently seeking volunteers to help with several program areas. That includes personal shoppers who help guide families through the shopping experience, traffic directors who will direct traffic, registration helpers to greet families and help them register, roamers who will take the day to help restock and help where needed, and greeters and clean-up crew to help take everything down.

Conn said volunteering for this event is easy work and very gratifying.

“I love the heart of the people, churches and businesses here who want to lend a hand, whether it is as volunteers or donating school items or funds,” Conn said. “It’s our community that makes this event a success.”

She said they currently need supplies and donations of backpacks, 1-inch binders, dry-erase markers, highlighters, and mechanical and wooden pencils.

Conn said another way to contribute is to sponsor a child by donating $50 per student, which covers the amount of a backpack and almost all the supplies. To sponsor a student, text B2S to 269-89; mail a check to Love INC at P.O. Box 144, Millersburg, OH 44654; or donate online at www.loveincofghc.org.

Love INC also welcomes back-to-school supply collection drives and donations. Businesses, churches or groups can collect different supplies like any of the aforementioned items and help Love INC stock the tables and shelves to help students get back to school as inexpensively as possible.

“Any church, business or group that would like to sponsor a school supply collection drive may do so,” Conn said. “People can call us at 330-473-6017 to arrange a drop-off time. We appreciate the community’s support in helping our area families get back to school.”

Conn also said Faith Bible Church will join the event with its shoe ministry, and people can participate by dropping off new or gently used shoes to the church at 7384 County Road 623 near Millersburg.

For more information visit Love INC’s Facebook page. The Love INC/Love Center building is located at 1291 Massillon Road just north of Millersburg.