Youngsters given backpacks, school supplies
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ALPENA -- On Sunday, TCC Alpena held its annual School Rocks Backpack Giveaway, which provides local families in Alpena with free backpacks and other school supplies.
"I love it," Verizon employee Matt Keepers said about the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway, an event he has overseen for three years. "I have four kids myself, so I know school supplies are expensive.
It's not a whole lot of stuff we give away but it is enough stuff to help offset a lot of costs."
The School Rocks Backpack Giveaway is a nationwide event put on by Round Room, LLC which sees backpacks and other school supplies provided to families by local TCC and Wireless Zone Verizon stores.
In a press release put out by Round Room, according to the National Retail Federation, American families with school-aged children spend $864 on average on school supplies in 2022, totaling $36.1 billion spent in the U.S. last year on school supplies alone.
For the Alpena giveaway, the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway was held at the TCC Alpena on M-32 West. Parents and their kids were free to come and grab backpacks as well as school supplies such as pencils, paper, a pencil box, folders, a ruler, and glue.
The event was first come first served.
"I think it's great," Alpena resident Danielle Hauser, who brought her two children Danica and Khloe Hill to collect their backpacks, said. "There are so many people nowadays who can't afford to send their kids to school.
It's great that we have these kinds of programs to help parents (and) families in those situations."