Grace House School Supply Shopping (7-14-20)

Grace House School Supply Shopping (7-14-20)

Time every year that families start to get ready for their kids to go back to school next month.

Even though this year we aren't exactly sure what's going to happen with the coronavirus pandemic threatening to delay in- classroom learning, parents and their kids want to be ready just in case.

That's why the grace house was such a popular place today.

<<new clothes for school, nat: "you get three shoes and a pant."checknew shoes, how about notebooks, pens and paper and a backpack to keep them in ?

Check, check and check.but with all the concerns about covid-19, will kids even need these items on august 24, the first scheduled day of the new school year."a lot is in the air with when is school going to start, when is it not going to start."either way, hundreds of familes came to the grace house early tuesday morning -- planning for a regular start to the year..

They were there for the non-profit's annual back to school shopping spree where the price was right.

"everything we do at grace house is free for a smile.

It's going to be 15 years in october and that's what we want."each of the last couple years, grace house has given school supplies to more than 1,000 families.with the economic slowdown because of the coronavirus, even more families are finding themselves in need."with the economy the way it is and i'm out of work right now, any kind of help with clothes or school supplies really helps right now.""there's a lot going on but making sure the families have a little bit of hope is always great."staff at grace house say they have a good pulse on some of the problems low income families are facing because of the coronavirus.

And it's for their sake they're hoping in- classroom learning starts on schedule."a lot of kids in this community do not have access to internet.

Their parents are still working, they're essential workers, they are still working.

They may not have the time to spend with their kids to go over the school materials with them and they're kind of on their own."

In the meantime, staff say they hope they're bringing smiles to people's faces -- even if they can't see them behind a mask."there's a lot going on, but making sure that families have a little bit of hope is always great.">> in each of the last two years, the grace house has provided clothes and school supplies to more than 1,000 children free of charge.

This year, they were expecting at least that many once again.