Haircuts, supplies provided at back to school event

PORT ANGELES — At a time when getting ready for a new school year can stretch family budgets, the annual Port Angeles School District back to school fair at Jefferson Elementary School provided free haircuts, backpacks filled with school supplies and clothing.

According a National Retail Federation survey, K-12 households plan to spend an average of $141.62 on school supplies, $253.29 on clothing and accessories and $170.43 on shoes this year.

Travis and Jennifer Hedin were among the many parents who attended Saturday’s event at Jefferson Elementary School. They go every year to outfit their six daughters for the start of school on Sept. 3: Kailena, 16; Airree, 15; Soraya, 14; Anondra, 12, Xyan, 11; and Novena, 7.

“It makes a big difference,” Travis Hedin said. “Just the backpacks are expensive. There used to be places where you could get things for 99 cents, but they’re gone.”

In a busy corner of the gym, Summer Cooper, the school district’s Native American family navigator, worked quickly to keep the racks of coats and jackets stocked and sweatshirts and hoodies neatly folded.

Much of the clothing was from lost and found at schools, Cooper said. If the owner couldn’t be identified, the item was washed and brought to the fair along with donated clothing for students to choose from.

“It’s community-driven and keeps these things in the community where people still need them,” Cooper said.

New socks and rubber boots, as well as beanies, also were available.

Rather than a coat, 5-year-old Atreyu Jones tried on a fake cast applied by Daisy Acevedo with Olympic Medical Center.

“It helps kids not be afraid if something like this happens,” Acevedo said.

Not to be overlooked, the fair had plenty of things for adults to keep busy.

The event gave families an opportunity to learn about and connect with social resources like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Community Health Plan of Washington. They also could pick up items from The Market, the Port Angeles Food Bank’s grocery store, and enjoy a barbecue lunch from Sodexo, the school district’s meal service.

Families and students participated together in sampling fresh cucumber slices with homemade hummus and rating three different kinds of tomatoes from Chi’s Farm. The mini taste tests mirrored the kind the WSU Clallam County Extension Farm to School program has been conducting throughout the school district with the goal of incorporating fresh local produce into student meals.

Among the 27 organizations participating in the event were Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, North Olympic Library System, Olympic Community Action Programs, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Peninsula College, Port Angeles Garden Club, Shore Aquatic Center and the WSU Clallam Extension Farm to School program.

Event sponsors and volunteers included Lutheran Community Services, Clallam County School Retirees Association, Nor’Wester and Port Angeles Noon Rotary clubs, Olympic Kiwanis and Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles, Port Angeles Education Foundation and Steve Methner State Farm Insurance.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.