Back-to-School Help Fair: Assisting Children and Families, Getting the New Year off to Great Start

August is certainly a busy time as summer winds down and families get ready for their kids to go back to school. For those families who may struggle to provide all of the supplies, clothes, and necessities their children are expected to have on that first day of school, the Backto-School Help Fair is a huge blessing. Our parish partners with other area churches to host this event for residents of Adams County. Karen Hugenberg helps coordinate the efforts at St. Peter and volunteers at the fair. She says the volunteers prepare more than 800 backpacks each year. Children can also receive a free haircut, clothing, and dental exam, and volunteer nurses provide physicals and immunizations.

“We’re coming together with a lot of churches to meet the needs of children in our community,” Karen says. “I don’t know of a lot of ecumenical events like this. I think it’s important that St. Peter’s is represented.”

The fair was started by First Baptist Church more than 30 years ago. As the event grew, more and more local churches got involved.

To prepare for the fair, our parish usually has a clothing drive, collecting socks and underwear in particular. Clothing was collected at the school at the end of the year and parishioners can find donation boxes for clothing in the narthex of the church at the end of the month. Karen is always touched when she sees the happiness of the children picking out their clothes at the fair.

“I can just see it in the eyes of the children,” she says. “They want a nice outfit for the first day of school, and it’s nice when they can find something that they like and will feel good in.”

The Back-to-School Help Fair gives families a chance to check many needs off their list at once, ensuring that their kids are ready when the first day of school rolls around. The volunteers often save some backpacks for the first day of school for the children who didn’t make it to the fair and are still in need of basic supplies.

The fair requires many volunteers to set up and run. The donated clothing must be sorted before the fair and there is a particular need for volunteer nurses and licensed hairdressers. Anyone available to volunteer can reach out to Karen.

“It’s very rewarding to help those little children and I know I felt so blessed that I was able to provide those things for my own children,” Karen says. “There are a lot of families that would like to, but really struggle to do so. If you’re in a position to help, it’s very appreciated.”

The Back-to-School Help Fair will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 8 to 11 a.m. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Karen Hugenberg at 217-592-2219. If you would like to donate new socks and underwear for Quincy students, please pick up tags in the Narthex after Masses on July 9-10 or July 16-17. Please return the purchased socks and underwear on July 23-24 and tape the bus tag on the packages to assist with sorting the donations. If you have questions about donating new socks and underwear, please contact Mary Christensen via email at christma2@att.net.