Back to School...sort of

July 21, 2012


Yesterday Grace and I worked at the Back To School Clothing Drive from 7:30-1:30.  It was an amazing, fun, and exhausting experience.  The organziation provides school clothes (including socks, undies & a belt), books, a pair of shoes, and a back pack stuffed with school supplies to literally thousands of low-income students.  Grace and I worked as personal shoppers.  We were paired up with one or more students and we walked them through the shopping "departments."  I shopped with 6 and Grace shopped with 12!!  Siblings were grouped together, so some times we had more than 1 student.  This all took place in the arena of a local private college.  It was a crazy how much stuff they had.
Grace wanted to shop all day long, but I was wiped out by 1:30.
An interesting note: all the schools from my elementary school district were there...including my alma mater, Cordova.  Afterwards, Grace & took a little drive by my former school and house.  Yikes! sums up my reaction pretty well.  What a difference 30 years makes.

Those seats in the arena are COVERED in backpacks.  About 9,000, all full of school supplies.

Here is a view of the departments on the floor of the arena.  

Grace with one of her little student shoppers.

Grace with her family of four students.  

Another view of the departments.