The Verizon store in Edwardsville held its ninth annual ‘School Rocks Backpack Giveaway’ on Sunday, giving backpacks and school supplies to area youngsters.
Geri Gibbons | For Times Leader
Verizon helps area children get ready for return to school
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Ryan Fine prepared backpacks and other items for Sunday’s backpack giveaway at Verizon in Edwardsville.
Geri Gibbons | For Times Leader
EDWARDSVILLE — A line formed early around the Verizon store in Edwardsville just before 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, with dozens of families waiting to pick up a free backpack filled with notebooks, pencils, glue, a ruler and a folder.
Frank Kotz, of Nanticoke, brought his grandson Elliot to the event, and was very pleased that in addition to the backpacks, there was also popsicles, pizza and other activities, which made the event complete.
Elliot Kotz, who will be heading to fifth grade in about a month, said he was excited to be going back to school and happy to spend time with his grandfather.
Kotz, who found out about the event when he came to get a phone at Verizon, said that next year he hopes to bring along his two other grandchildren.
“This is great,” he said. “It gets kids thinking about going back to school.”
For Kotz and many other families the start of a new school year means the purchase of items such as pencils, book bags, notebooks and rulers.
Unfortunately, the cost of these items often puts a financial burden on many parents.
Shauna Fiske-Harris, Verizon regional manager, said the event is becoming tradition for Verizon stores, having held the giveaway for the last several years.
Last year, she said, the event was modified because of the coronavirus pandemic, and held as a drive through giveaway.
This year the event “went big” with donations from Revello’s and Price Chopper making refreshments and some simple activities possible.
Fiske-Harris said she had tasked staff member Ryan Fine with the job of putting the event together and credited him with doing an excellent job.
“We like to delegate such projects to employees and this turned out well,” she said.
Fine was well received by the children as he gave out popsicles and assisted them in choosing the perfect color book bag.
Fiske-Harris estimated that before the afternoon was over, about 200 backpacks would be given away.
Nationwide over 750 Verizon stores donated more than 140,000 such backpacks to area children, as part of the ninth annual “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway.”