With just over a week to go before the start of class, Michigan City nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations came together on Saturday to host the city’s annual City-Wide Back to School Rally. Featuring free entertainment, food, school supplies, and even immunizations, the rally hosted at Elston Gill Field gave families a leg up to start the year.
Hosted every year since 2009, the City-Wide Back to School rally is organized by a committee of local organizations – the Indiana Black Expo Michigan City Chapter, Sodexo, Michigan City Area Schools, Franciscan Health, Anthem, NAACP, LaPorte County YMCA, and Salvation Army of Michigan City. Patricia Harris, chair of the committee, said that the event sees around 2,000 people attend, or volunteer each year, with around 1,500 backpacks filled with school supplies distributed to attending students.
“It makes a huge impact when you think about that number. That's so many students that might not have had these supplies without this service,” Harris said. “They need these supplies to start their first day of school. If they’re not prepared, they’re starting off behind. We want everybody to be in line with the rest of their classroom at all ages.”
Betsy Kohn, director of communications for Michigan City Area Schools, stressed just how quickly the costs for school supplies can add up, making the rally especially important for larger families.
“When you try to buy supplies for multiple children you’re talking hundreds of dollars’ worth of stuff,” she said. “These backpacks are absolutely full of things they need. It really helps the kids get off to a great start.”
The backpacks and supplies were all donated by local businesses and organizations including GAF Michigan City, Franciscan Health, Geminus, and the Franciscan Mission Committee. American Licorice Company donated a large portion of the backpacks – just over 1,000 of them – and also volunteered to hand them out to attending families.
“We have a new company saying ‘For a sweeter start,’ and what sweeter place to start than with the kids at school,” said Barbara Payne, account coordinator in the CRM department at American Licorice. “I get to go home at the end of the day knowing that hundreds of kids won’t have to worry about whether they’ll have a pencil for school. Sometimes that worry alone being taken care of is enough to get these kids off to the right start.”
Another common hurdle for families, especially those with younger children, is keeping up with mandatory immunizations. Franciscan Health set up a booth to offer shots to any family who wanted them.
“It’s so awesome to see all these organizations out here,” Kohn said. “Seeing everything come to fruition, seeing the response from the community, whether it’s the backpacks, or coming out here to exhibit and interact with the kids – it’s just awesome.”
Michigan City Area Schools also worked closely with Sodexo, their food service provider, to provide a free catered lunch for all attendees.
“It brings everyone together, we’ve got a bit of an audience and we can give them the supplies they need," said Nicole Santana, food service director for Michigan City Area Schools. “More than that, it’s about the experience. It’s fun, healthy, and educational. It’s something for the kiddos to do and get off to school on the right foot.”
Harris noted that building spirit and getting kids excited to head to class was just as important as giving them supplies.
“If you look out over the field, it’s like a little festival,” she said. “There are all these social service agencies from across the here to support these parents and families and their efforts to raise their children and get them through the educational process. We have kids engaged, having fun, and feeling good about going back to school.”
Kids took part in different activities, with some booths offering prizes for taking part in different games and challenges – including sending Michigan City’s Assistant Police Chief & Chief of Operations Marty Corley and new Michigan City Wolves Head Football Coach Cody French into a dunk tank.
“The City totally supports us,” Harris said. “The fire department is here on hot days they’ll spray the kids with some water. The Police Department is also set up here, and they assist with crowd control and traffic control. The Parks Department even supplies us with golf carts so that the committee can move around.”
This year’s City-Wide Back to School Rally title sponsors included American Licorice Company, Anthem, Comcast, Franciscan Health, Meijer, and Sodexo.
To learn more about the latest happenings around Michigan City, visit www.emichigancity.com.
