Families began lining up at 7 a.m. in line Thursday morning to take advantage of a limited supply of free books, shoes and backpacks as they prepare for the new school year which begins today.
Hundreds of parents and their children attended the third annual “Back-to-School Bash” hosted by the Ceres Unified School District’s Student Services Department and the Family Resource Center. The line wrapped around the Lawrence Street frontage of property just west of the CUSD offices as the goodies were provided by donations and were offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
“It’s been amazing, it’s been growing every year,” said CUSD Student Support Specialist Britney Perez. “You see the kids smile when they get these shoes.”
This year the event came over two days to prevent a longer line. Wednesday was an invitation only event to ensure the needs of students from especially needy families were met and the second day on Thursday being an open event.
Much of the supplies of shoes and backpacks were donated by Souls for Shoes, Costco and the Stanislaus County Office of Education, or paid for by the district. Bombas Socks donated socks. A select group of kids were treated to Flawless Hair Salon on Fourth Street.
“We’re glad to see the numbers grow every year,” said Maira Cortes Lopez, who saw a line forming before she arrived at 7:30 a.m. The event didn’t start until 9 a.m.
Ceres Library Supervisor Rebecca Brown was on hand to guide children to tables filled with free books which they could choose from to take home. The books were donated by the Ceres Rotary Club and the Ceres and Salida libraries.
“If you would see the enthusiasm of the children here it is genuinely beautiful,” said Lillian Loera, administrative assistant in the Student Services Department. She expressed the desire to ignite the passion of students to find peace in reading books and “disconnect from all the social busyness of the world … and just dive into a book.”
Also offered was frozen yogurt from Yogurt Mill. Modesto Fire brought a fire engine for the children to tour.
Loera said parents of children under the age of five had a chance to sign up for free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
In the parking lot Modesto Fire Department displayed a fire engine as fire inspector Jeff McKeon admonished everyone to “make sure you test your smoke alarm once a month.” He said keeping a smoke detector active is the best protection a person have if a fire occurs while they are sleeping.
Last week the two main high schools in Ceres held orientation sessions to distribute Chromebooks, textbooks, take photos for student ID cards and purchase ASB cards.
The Ceres Police Department is cautioning drivers to beware of the start of school and to be extremely careful, especially in the areas around Ceres’ numerous school campuses.
