ROME TOWNSHIP — When Fairland students are thinking about their summer vacation, that’s when a group of volunteers start thinking about next fall.

They’re the volunteers who take care of the annual school supply giveaway at New Hope United Methodist Church. This year the event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11.

“We started doing this four or five years ago,” Deana Laton said. “There is such a need in the area. Sometimes we can’t provide everything they need, but this gives them a good start.”

Just as the school year ends, the volunteers begin planning what they will need for the August giveaway.

“We start thinking in May about what we will need to do next year,” Laton said. “We start shopping in July. We have lists from the Fairland teachers on what they require. We get donations from the church and we ask members to bring in supplies. Then we go to Walmart for shopping.”

The giveaway is open to students from kindergarten to high school seniors, although the majority of the participants are in the elementary grades.

“We usually go through a lot of pencil boxes,” she said.

Last year 120 students received backpacks and school supplies.

“It is really gratifying,” Laton said. “You see these kids come in and we let them pick out their own backpacks and then we fill the orders. They really get into this. And a lot of kids from our church like to help with this. It is growing every year.”