Thursday, May 9, 2024
Since 2001, Operation School Supplies (OSS) has been providing Hood County families in need with free school supplies.
But with the recent inflation, more families are struggling to make ends meet this year — presenting a huge challenge for the nonprofit organization.
“We received a record number of applications for school supplies this year,” said Micky Shearon, president of OSS. “We had 1,800 applications last year and we were over 2,200 this year, so for a one-year jump, that’s significant for us.”
OPERATION SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Every year, Hood County families apply for OSS, and in order to qualify, families are typically already enrolled in some type of state or federal aid like the Free and Reduced-Price School Meals, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or Medicaid.
The application process for OSS opened at the beginning of May and closed on June 25, leaving families with almost two months to sign up.
"Once the applications have closed, we take all of those applications, download it into our database, and we filter it out by grade level to figure out how many school supplies we need,” Shearon said.
DONATIONS
With 400 more families needing assistance this year, donations for Operation School Supplies are needed now than ever before.
“We need to really ramp up contributions this year,” Shearon said. “Where we stand right now — based on past years' experience, and what it historically costs — we probably don’t even have half of what we’re going to need this year.”
Shearon said out of Operation School Supplies' 22-year existence, the organization has never held any type of fundraising event.
"We know there is only so much money in the community to go around and there are so many other different organizations in town that need that support,” he explained. “We try to keep our overhead low, so every penny we get goes into school supplies, but this year has just been really slow, and I think part of that might be an indication of the economy. But bringing it to people’s attention and raising awareness will help.”
Distribution day for the school supplies this year is set from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2, at Granbury High School, 2000 W. Pearl St.
RESOURCE FAIR
During distribution, a resource fair will also be set up for families to learn about other nonprofit organizations like Mission Granbury, Hood County Children’s Charity, and Christmas for Children.
“We take up the entire cafeteria area of Granbury High School, and we have all of the different service organizations that offer any kind of program, and any kind of service visit with kids and their families," Shearon said. “It’s kind of like a one-stop shop for resources. They’ve got all of these different groups and organizations to help and serve them.”
Ruth’s Place will have a booth set up for parents to make a sports physical appointment for their children, while other services like immunizations and haircuts may also be provided — depending on volunteers.
“Sometimes we have a hard time finding hairstylists,” Shearon said. “We weren’t able to do haircuts last year because we didn’t have any hairstylists that were available, but I really want to be able to offer that this year. So, if you’re a hairstylist, we’re open from nine to five if you want to come and donate a few hours of your time.”
Shearon added that bilingual volunteers who can help with interpretation are also a huge need during distribution day.
To make a tax-deductible contribution to Operation School Supplies, visit the PayPal link at ossdonate.org online or send a check payable to: Operation School Supplies, P.O. Box 2403, Granbury, TX 76048.
“We could really use your help to be able to provide school supplies to all of our kids,” Shearon added. “Thank you in advance for your support.”
