Resource fair helped highway families prep for new school year

The 2019-2020 school year begins for Fairfax County Public Schools on Monday, and a number of students in the Richmond Highway area will be headed back with new backpacks and school supplies thanks the generosity of local schools, organizations and businesses.

The 5th annual Mount Vernon Pyramid Resource Fair was held August 14 at Mount Vernon High School. Approximately 1,750 backpacks with supplies in them were distributed in total, marking the first year that the fair was able to provide one for every student who came.

Vision, hearing and dental screenings were available at the fair for students who needed them. Free haircuts were also offered, courtesy of the Paul Mitchell Beauty School. More than 50 vendors and other organizations were in attendance, and families got four stamps from them on their “passports” before heading into another area to get their supplies.

Planning for this year’s fair was led by Walt Whitman Middle School assistant principal Matthew Johnson, a Mount Vernon graduate himself. Johnson credited fellow planners Karen Hertel, Katina Matthews, Karisa Gearheart, DanaAbou Hosn, Delia Montecinos, and Avanda Williams-White for making the event come together. Staff from the schools in the pyramid were on hand to help out on the day of the event, as were players from the Mount Vernon football team.

Johnson noted that all but one of the elementary schools in the Mount Vernon Pyramid is classified as Title 1, which means that at least 40 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals. The resource fair gives those families an extra hand as they prepare for the new school year, Johnson said.

“We are very fortunate to have a great community that pulls together to provide families with various resources that help prepare children for school,” Johnson said. “If we can remove one stressor for a family, such as providing them with a book bag and school supplies, or partnering them with a community organization that can assist them, then an event like this is essential and worthwhile.”

Financial support for the event came from many of the schools in the pyramid. Costco donated 350 book bags, and Amazon Web Services also donated book bags and supplies through its partnership with the United Way of the National Capital Area and United Community.