ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City’s Back to School Extravaganza returned this year and helped double the amount of families compared to last year.
On Saturday morning, hundreds of volunteers passed out 3,300 bags of school supplies to families at Patrick Henry High School.
Lines of traffic were so long the entrance shut down an hour early.
Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Verletta White said she understands many families are still struggling financially after the coronavirus pandemic and just need more support.
”Our families are getting what they need so their kids can start off school here in a great way,” she said. “When we say we are one, this is exactly what we mean.”
For the first time, Fleet Feet brought 5,000 pairs of shoes for students of all ages to the event.
While only 1,500 pairs of shoes were distributed Saturday due to a time limit, volunteers will still visit every school once school starts to measure students’ feet and pass out the rest of the shoes.
During the event, each child stepped on a 3D foot scanner to ensure each pair of shoes was a perfect fit.
“So, that was really important to us. We didn’t want to just hand kids shoes,” Fleet Feet Co-Owner Robin Lewis said. “It’s really important to us to fit shoes. Most people don’t wear the proper size and especially kids, they grow and you don’t know what size they wear.”
Lewis said there are 8,000 students in total who are in need and they need $110,000 dollars within 30 days to help buy more shoes.
If families could not come out Saturday, they can reach out to their child’s school counselor or principal for shoe vouchers and supplies.
Additional school supplies will be sent to every school for families to claim.