"As Fayette County students say goodbye to their classrooms for the summer, some local businesses and community groups are already gathering support to get children prepared for next year.
In 2006, the "Ready, Set, Go" back-to-school program, which provides free backpacks stocked with school supplies to local students in need, was taken directly to Lexington's low-income communities with nine rallies organized across town. Backpacks filled with essentials such as pencils, notebooks, crayons, glue sticks, scissors and folders were distributed to 4,000 children in the community through the events, hosted simultaneously by nine neighborhoods with the help of supporting local businesses, religious organizations, parents and community members.
In 2007, the program is expected to be expanded to 10 to 12 neighborhoods and 6,000 students, according to LexLinc, which will be coordinating the event, and companies are already being enlisted to help.
While the event's primary goal is to make sure students are set to learn for the upcoming school year, the rallies also help to bring together many neighborhood stakeholders to show children that the entire community wants them to succeed, said Catherine Warner, youth/children's program coordinator for LexLinc.
"It sends a good message that we all are invested in our children's future," Warner said. "What better way is there than to know that 6,000 kids will get a good start and go in there prepared for the first day of school?"
In previous years, the annual rally has been held in one central location, but last year, under the coordination of LexLinc and One Community One Voice, the program was revamped to focus on neighborhood-based events. Having multiple neighborhood rallies, Warner said, increases the accessibility of the program to the children and parents who benefit, creates a sense of highly localized ownership in organizing the events, and gives local businesses and organizations large and small the ability to get directly involved.
"It's just wonderful PR to let the communities know they care, to let the communities they are based in know they want to be part of positive events like this," said Betty Duke Ross, one of three coordinators for the Georgetown Street neighborhood rally at Douglas Park. Ross, a paraeducator at Dixie Elementary, said last year's rally attracted more than 1,500 people at the Georgetown Street location alone, where they distributed bags to between 600 and 700 elementary school children. About 20 sponsors helped in the effort on the neighborhood level, including Thomas and King, which provided 10,000 pencils along with calculators for middle and high school students.
At some of last year's rallies, the event took on a carnival-like atmosphere, with inflatable rides and activities for the children, lunch and a community resource fair. Parents were able to meet with teachers and other school district personnel, churches helped out, and businesses such as Vulcan Materials, Save-a-Lot and McDonalds were there to contribute as well.
Program coordinators hope to see that unified sense of support within the neighborhoods carry through after the school year begins.
"The idea is to build those relationships in the neighborhoods, at the neighborhood level, where they have the most meaning," said Wanda Bertram, executive director of LexLinc. While some supporters step up to provide supplies for the overall program, many other businesses are mobilized by the individual neighborhoods for everything from providing refreshments for parents to manning a community resource booth.
"One of the things that we're really blessed with in Lexington is that our business community understands the need to have kids prepared when they come out of school," said Stu Silberman, Fayette County Public Schools superintendent. "That preparation and success at the back end of it really is reflective of what happens when they walk into those elementary schools."
Several companies have already agreed to participate in the 2007 event, but more are still being sought, Warner said. Kentucky Utilities has stepped up to donate 2,000 backpacks for the program's 2007 rallies. KU has participated in a similar program in Jefferson County sponsored by local power plants that has enjoyed great success, KU spokesperson Cliff Feltham said, and the company was planning on launching an independent program in Fayette County before it learned of the established community-wide event. It will be Kentucky Utilities' first year backing the "Ready, Set, Go" program, Feltham said, and the company hopes it will be one of many community partners in the effort.
"The kids have a much better feeling of self-esteem when they are going to school with new supplies," Feltham said.
In addition to the backpack donation, Kentucky Utilities also hopes to engage the volunteer participation of employees in stuffing the bags and participating at the rallies, Feltham said, allowing them to play an active role in helping to support their local communities.
For more information or to find out how you or your business can get involved in the Lexington "Ready, Set, Go" Back-To-School Rallies, contact Catherine Warner at (859) 381-1302, ext. 228, or e-mail her at cwarner@lexlinc.org.
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