NAVASOTA, Texas — Back-to-school shopping can be a stressful time for families, but an annual event in Grimes County is doing its best to relieve some of that stress.
The Grimes County drive-thru back-to-school supply drive started at 10 a.m. this morning at the Grimes County fairgrounds.
Hundreds of kids were expected to show up and get what they needed to start school prepared.
Grimes County Commissioner Precinct 3, Barbra Walker said “We always plan for 400 but through the donations from the Texas Renaissance Festival we’re also able to provide another sometimes anywhere between 200 hundred and 400 hundred additional backpacks.”
Each backpack comes filled with school supplies like pencils, notebook paper, rulers and now hand sanitizer.
The drive is sponsored primarily by the citizens of Grimes county, the commissioner's court, and generous donations from their partners in the community.
Volunteers have been working since Wednesday last week, collecting, organizing, and putting everything together.
Commissioner Walker has helped run the counties back to school drive for nine years now and she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
"It’s overwhelming. It’s exciting when somebody runs up to you and tells you ‘thank you so much, you made there day," Walker said. "That's a great feeling for all of us, and that's why we put in the effort.”
The time and effort the volunteers put into the back-to-school drive each year are noticed by the families they are supporting, families like the Castillo's.
“I have lots of nieces and nephews coming into the Grimes county school district," Jessica Catillo said. "I’ve registered four so, that’s a big help, a big help.”
Volunteers ended up passing out about 600 backpacks full of schools supplies today, showing that when it comes to a child’s education. The people of Grimes county are setting their students up for success.
Commissioner Walker says the appreciation from the citizens of Grimes County is what drives her to do whatever she can for them.
