Revamping the Back to School Fiesta

When Kate Sowell took over as executive director of the Barnabas Connection last October she figured she had a pretty good blueprint for staging the non-profit’s premier event, the Back-To-School Fiesta.

After all, the Fiesta is in its 14th year and she had a lot of experience to draw on. But like so many other businesses and charitable organizations, COVID-19 came along and changed everything.

“Our ultimate end goal is to get those school supplies to the kids. So we had to figure out how we could accomplish the same thing in a different way,” explains Kate.

The goal of the Back-To-School Fiesta is to get school supplies into the hands of students who can’t afford them. A typical box of supplies runs about $50 and includes a backpack, notebooks, pens and pencils, and books. Each year about 500 students are served.

“In previous years families would register for the program. We would notify them (that the supplies were ready) and they would come and pick everything up,” says Kate.

Not so in 2020. At first the group was going to stage a drive-through distribution at three different locations around town. It was decided that would expose too many volunteers to COVID. Plan B is to simply have the boxes of supplies waiting for the students on the first day of school.

In the classroom?

Then another challenge appeared. The folks at the Barnabas Connection didn’t know if the students would actually be in the classroom or be learning virtually from home. For those being schooled at home the supplies would have to be different. For example, a pair of quality earphones would be included so they can hear better through the computer. This year’s boxes will include hand sanitizer, paper towels and disinfectant wipes.

“We have been working with teachers to find out exactly what an on-line learner might need,” says Kate.

In the past, a haircut was provided by volunteer barbers so the kids would look spiffy on the first day. Thanks to the virus, that was clipped from the program. Some local hairstylists have donated gift certificates this year.

Usually, Barnabas volunteers go shopping for the supplies. This time around, most of the boxes were ordered on-line to minimize exposure for the volunteers.

So far more than 450 students in all grades have registered for the Fiesta. The recipients remain anonymous. So, if a donor sends in $50 to sponsor a student, they won’t know specifically who that student is, but will know the money is being spent wisely and going directly to a needy child.

“It’s about leveling the playing field,” says Kate, “so all the students have the same thing. Fiesta is a time for the kids to get excited about the first day of school.

“Their supplies will look just like their peers’.”

According to a Barnabas survey, 70 percent of the families who will receive the school supplies, say they have been adversely impacted by COVID-19.

Hardest hit

A congressional economic committee made up of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives tells us: “Research shows that poor and working poor Americans are most vulnerable to COVID-19. They are much more likely to have underlying health conditions like hypertension, chronic lung disease, diabetes and heart disease…Working-poor service sector workers have been hit particularly hard by massive layoffs caused by stay-at-home orders.”

The Fiesta is a community-wide effort. Individuals can send in $50 to sponsor a child. Community organizations such as the Wimberley Community Civic Club and the Wimberley Lions Club each donated more than $4,000 to the program. Imagine Wimberley and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul each provided 100 backpacks. The Wimberley Rotary Club supplied books.

“People have been very generous in sponsoring these kiddos,” says Kate.

The Barnabas Connection got its start in a Sunday school class at the United Methodist Church. The idea was to connect people in need with services to help them. At first, the group would get 20 or so calls a month. Now the volunteers field 100 calls per month. Services range from job placement to a low-cost “Christmas store,” to working with the Pedernales Electric Co-op to lower energy costs for those in poverty.

There’s still time to register for a box of supplies either on-line at www. barnabasconnects.org or by calling 512-842-9674 (for Spanish, 512-842-7768). More than 550 boxes of supplies have been ordered. There are extra supplies available, especially for high school-aged students.

“It’s emotional, I think, for everybody. We have donors who get emotional because they had parents who at one time or another were struggling. We have donors who were actually recipients of Fiesta. It’s really something special,” says Kate.