ROANOKE, Va. – CHIP of the Roanoke Valley is giving away free school supplies on Tuesday at 10 a.m. as part of its Back to School Celebration.
The organization is giving away backpacks, pencils, glue, paper, you name it, to help kids start the school year off on the right foot.
The supplies are going to about 60 families that benefit from CHIP of the Roanoke Valley and several members of the community.
Everyone is welcome to attend. The group is expecting about 300 families to show up.
“Getting school supplies is stressful, and I don’t think that people think about it from a kid standpoint, but parents are stressed, kids are stressed, so it just kind of relieves a lot of pressure and gets these kids feeling confident going into school with their new supplies,” said Major Gifts Officer Tiffany Dennis.
This is the third year that CHIP of the Roanoke Valley is hosting the event.
The organization helps low-income children and their families access healthcare until the kids enter kindergarten. It’s been helping people in Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt and Craig for about 35 years.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize a lot of kids do not have access to healthcare. So, we make sure that we are educating the families. We are getting kids access to healthcare, and we’re just creating an environment that will be successful for them when they leave us and enter school. So, we try to set them up for success,” said Dennis.
Again, the Back to School Celebration is taking place on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the CHIP of the Roanoke Valley office.