LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — A back-to-school supply drive is underway in Lebanon aimed at helping grandfamilies — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends raising children — get the supplies they need for the new school year.
The Jimmy Floyd Family Center, along with organizers including Jenny Sanders with Foster 180 and Rolinda Stotts with JustServe.org, is collecting school supplies through the end of July for grandfamilies in Wilson County.
Sanders, who has a 5th grader of her own, knows firsthand how quickly the costs add up.
"$300 to get all the supplies that they need for school nowadays," Sanders said.
Nichol Teague, programming and marketing director at the Jimmy Floyd Family Center, said the need in Wilson County is greater than many people realize.
Teague said there are an estimated 1,200 grandfamilies in Wilson County alone.
"They've stepped into a role that they didn't expect, but a role that they have found very necessary for their grandchildren," Sanders said.
Since the children being taken care of are not part of the foster care system, organizers said the family members may not be aware of the resources available to them in the community.
Some of the items needed include colored pencils, crayons, washable markers, pencils, erasers, student scissors, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, zipper bags, composition notebooks, binders, 3-prong pocket folders, and packages of 8.5x11 paper.
There is also a need for classroom hygiene items like Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, Kleenex, paper towels, and dry-erase markers.
Click here for more information on donating items.
Those items can be dropped off at the Jimmy Floyd Family Center through the end of July.
On July 31, the Floyd will host a special back-to-school night where children can pick up supplies and grandfamilies can learn about other resources available in Wilson County.
Registration is required to attend the back to school night and receive the school supplies.
Click here to register; the list to receive school supplies is capped at 200 people.
The purpose of the back-to-school event goes beyond just helping kids get supplies; it’s also to make sure people know what resources are available for grandfamilies in Wilson County.
While the Jimmy Floyd Family Center has hosted grandfamily nights before, this is its first school supply drive for them; those prior events helped put this supply drive in motion.
“Jimmy Floyd was doing a toy drive about a year and a half ago, and they wanted a really cool, amazing place for these toys to go. So we all got together, and were like, ‘Wow, there is an underserved family system, and that's grandparents raising grandchildren. And so we all got together and said, "What can we do for them? And so Jimmy Floyd started hosting these amazing events for these grandparents,” said Stotts.
The drive is limited to grandfamilies in Wilson County, and organizers said registration is required as soon as possible.
Click here to register to attend and receive the school supplies.
The event can only accommodate up to about 200 people.
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