Free backpacks and school supplies will be distributed 3-6 p.m. July 28 at Pike Place in downtown Crawfordsville.
Benchmark Family Services, All State Insurance, Hoosier Heartland State Bank and FC Tucker will host this Back to School Bash. The event will have many activities and resources for families to enjoy including a touch-a-truck, food trucks, DJ entertainment provided by Ben Gregory and multiple community vendors. These community vendors are all based in youth care and services to provide a hub of information for parents and guardians. Some of the vendors this year include the Youth Service Bureau, Head Start, Kids Closet and more.
Many students go into school without all the materials they need for the school year. According to the Backpack Index survey taken by Huntington National Bank this year, prices for school supplies have increased by 7.3%.
“This is where we can come in as a community,” said Nicole Keith, regional director of Benchmark Family Services. “We can help the parents and guardians of the youth of our community alleviate some of the back-to-school cost by providing supplies during this event and make the back-to-school time less stressful.”
The employees of the businesses understand the need for this event as many of them are parents themselves.
“The cost of school supplies goes up every year,” said Jessica Ryker, an employee of Benchmark. “This event will not only help with the need of supplies in the community for our kids, but also act as bridge for resources that many parents may not know Montgomery County offers our youth.”
Benchmark Family Services is still accepting donations of school supplies and backpacks for this event. They are located at 1880 S. US 231.
