Mothers and their children arrived at Savia Community Center last weekend for a Back-to-School Supply Drive hosted by Single Mothers Outreach.

Volunteers were thrilled to see a line out the door of members with their children tugging at their sides in excitement. SMO members had been eagerly registering for the event months in advance and the day was finally here.

Backpacks and school supplies are often expenses that struggling mothers simply cannot afford, so SMO saw this need and took action. With the help from the Ronald McDonald Foundation and Project Share the Grace at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, nearly 200 kids received backpacks filled with binders, crayons, pencil boxes and much more. Princess Cruises also assisted by donating office supplies.

During the event, members were greeted by volunteers and each child was given the choice of deciding which color backpack they would be sporting this school year. While members were presented a list of the different classes offered by SMO, kids were given another tough choice between stickers or toy cars.

“I love being able to get all the school supplies for my son, it’s awesome,” said one mother.

Sarah Jones, a single mother, looked on as her kids skipped around in their brand new backpacks, thrilled to begin the new school year.

“Even with a full time job, you can’t afford everything, so this is a really good help, because [the kids] are excited so go back to school,” she said.

“We are very grateful to our volunteers and donors, especially The Ronald McDonald Foundation for their generous grant,” said Yorleni Sapp, Executive Director. “Everything we do at SMO is dependent on grants and fundraising and we rely on community support.”

SMO sees specific needs within the community and with the help of generous donors and volunteers; SMO is able to continue its mission of empowering single parents to thrive. Single Mothers Outreach has their Empowering HeArts gala on November 5 which recognizes outstanding women in our community and raises much needed funds.

Tickets are available via http://singlemothersoutreach.org/tickets/