LYNN — At an event Monday, the North Shore Juneteenth Association gave away new backpacks, knit hats, and period packs to students ahead of their first day of school next Wednesday.
The giveaway was made possible by a North Shore Juneteenth Association grant and peer-to-peer fundraising. Founder and President Nicole McClain said that since the association first started hosting the annual giveaway about five years ago, the motivation behind it has always been community demand. She said although there are often several similar giveaways in Lynn each year, inexpensive or free new backpacks and other school supplies remain in short supply.
“There is a huge need for school supplies and people can’t seem to afford everything their child needs to be ready for school,” McClain said. “We saw that even after other people organized backpack drives, there was still a need so we decided to step up and help.”
While the association hosted Monday’s giveaway on its own, McClain said it partnered with other organizations in the past to put on the same event and that it plans to do so in the future to increase the number of backpacks and supplies it is able to provide. This year, the association gave away 100 new backpacks to Lynn Public Schools students and 50 period packs to those who might begin needing them this school year, according to McClain. The period packs include sanitary towels, tampons, and pads.
“Times are hard and a lot of times we downplay the impact of things like this, so the Juneteenth organization is committed to making sure that every kid in Lynn has what they need,” North Shore Juneteenth Association board member Ogor Winnie OKoye said.
Students were also invited to take home knit hats. While some were donated, most were knit by Kicia Rideout and her organization Chase the Chill which is a group of people who knit and crochet items in order to “do what they can to get people warm things for cold days” based in Lynn.
Miss Massachusetts 2022 Katrina Kincade also helped give away backpacks at the event. Within the Miss America Organization, Kincade said she leads a social impact initiative advocating for diversity and inclusion and wanted to partner with the North Shore Juneteenth Association because their missions are in alignment.
“As somebody who went to these as a child to get backpacks for school, it really means a lot to me to be able to provide kids in every community with what they need to go back to school properly,” Kincade said.
Rachel Barber can be reached at [email protected].
