ROANOKE, Va. – A brand new event aims to help Roanoke city school children.
A school bus was parked in downtown Roanoke with the goal to fill the entire bus with donated school supplies for local students in need.
Many people and businesses had already stopped by Market Square Friday morning to donate, dropping off backpacks, crayons and other items.
The drive lasts until 5 p.m. Friday.
ALCOVA, a locally-based mortgage company, hopes to make this an annual event.
“It’s absolutely important. I have kids of my own and we know that kids are only able to learn when they’re well-fed and when they have all their supplies that they need,” said Vice President of Marketing Kim Bratic.
Downtown Roanoke Inc also helped out.
Roanoke City Schools will give the supplies to students at an event called Back-to-School Extravaganza. It will be on Aug. 17 at William Fleming High School from 9 a.m. to noon.
The city will provide transportation from the following locations:
Bluestone Park, Hunt Manor, Indian Rock Village, Jamestown Place, Landsdowne Park (library), Melrose Towers, and Pilot Street NW (Country Cookin on Melrose). The buses will depart from the front of each community center beginning at 8:30 a.m. Buses will leave on the half-hour and return on the hour.
The following school supplies are most needed: notebook paper, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, pencil boxes, rulers, glue sticks, backpacks, copy paper and markers.
The event coincides with Virginia's tax-free weekend to encourage shoppers to buy supplies to fill the bus.