Fannin County, Texas -- More than 600 students from all over Fannin County received free school supplies on August 6 to start the new school year, thanks to a generous community. This year marked the 26th year that the Fannin County Children’s Center has provided school supplies to local children and youth.
The exact number of students served on Saturday was 605. Organizers expect the final number to grow over the next few days as additional students will be served with the remaining supplies. Misti Tackett and Emily Littleton from Hair Central in Leonard also provided free haircuts to 19 students too.
“Once again, we are very grateful to our generous donors and hard-working volunteers and staff who make this happen every year,” said Sandy Barber, Executive Director of the Children’s Center.
“We also appreciate Misti and Emily for generously using their talents to give 19 children free haircuts on Saturday. We also are grateful to Red River Gypsies for loaning us their space, so that the haircuts could be indoors and in a setting suitable for haircuts,” said Barber.
Numerous other organizations braved the heat and set up outside, in front of the center to offer resources to the children and families getting supplies. One City Church gave away 500 breakfast burritos as well as lots of toiletries, baby wipes and diapers. Other vendors included Bailey Inglish Early Childhood Center, Balloons & More, Bonham Public Library, Fannin County Sherriff Office, Meade-Norman Bayless Insurance, Superior HealthPlan, Texas A&M ArgiLife Extension Service, Texas Farm Bureau, Texas Star and Texas Health Steps (Maximus) and Workforce Solutions Texoma.
The mission of the Children’s Center is promoting safety and improving the lives of abused and neglected children. In addition to the annual school supply drive, the center operates CASA, Children’s Advocacy Center and child abuse prevention programs. The next CASA volunteer training class starts soon. The deadline to apply online to become a CASA is August 22. For more information, call (903) 583-4339 or go to www.fanninccc.org.
