Over at the Sparks Fellowship Church, Molina Healthcare of Nevada and Good Shepherd's Clothes Closet collaborated to host their 3rd annual back-to-school resource fair.
They told us they saw a huge need in the Sparks area.
Jose Gomez, the Senior Specialist for Growth and Engagement for Molina Healthcare Nevada, says, "A lot of our back-to-school events are in Washoe County, but there's not a lot here in Sparks. So we wanted to make sure our Sparks community has somewhere to get free school supplies, get dental screenings and vaccines, and get eye vision checkups."
They had people lining up outside of the doors long before they opened at 3:00 p.m. They immediately helped 400 people at the start of the event and expect to help over 500 by the end of the event.
Chelcee Little, a mother of two, told us, "We've scored lots of clothes; we've got tons of school supplies for the year. I was a little worried about getting old school supplies and clothes for the school year that's also Monday, but I'm really happy they were here."
She also mentioned, "It's helped a whole ton. I'm not working right now; I'm staying at home, and it's been a little rough. So you know I'm not going to get emotional, but this has been very, very helpful for our family."
Gomez went on to say, "Having new textbooks and sharpened pencils is going to give them a great step on the first day of school."
He also adds that they offer more than just your everyday school supplies at this resource fair: "We really collaborated and focused on what the needs of our community are, and we decided mental health, books, and anything that is going to help the family for their youth for their kiddo to be ready for the first day of school."
Gomez told us with everything being so expensive right now, one little item can go a long way.
"Clothes today are so expensive; everything stacks up. One family might have four kids; that's four kids, four school supplies, and four new clothes, so just alleviating that stress for families on the first day of school is going to alleviate a lot."
Everything at the resource fair was free for families today.
If you weren't able to make it out today and you need help with back-to-school supplies, you can check out the Molina Healthcare website to get in touch with the organization.
