On August 27th we hosted our back to school kickoff event where we welcomed West End House members of all ages to stop by, say hi, and pick up a brand-new backpack full of new school supplies to help them start the school year off right.
Backpacks, packed that morning with love and care by our staff, had items such as spiral and composition notebooks, 3-ring binders and filler paper, pocket folders, pens, pencils, crayons, scissors, a ruler and more inside! Items given out were specific to the grade level of our members. We had backpacks for our elementary school members and backpacks for our middle and high school members.
Staff set up socially distanced tables with the backpacks and other give-aways for our young people, including new books for all reading levels as well as New Balance athletic gear. Our Senior Director of Fitness and Nutrition Lisa Smith made delicious individually wrapped ice cream sandwiches with home-made chocolate-chip cookies and rainbow sprinkles. We also hosted a community wide vaccine clinic from 3-5pm in our first floor Gamesroom, where some of our teen members chose to receive the vaccine. The afternoon was full of music, laughter, and community!
