Students receive free school supplies at West Side giveaway

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Many kids are back in school around the Chicago area already.

And Chicago Public Schools students return on Monday.

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There was a back-to-school giveaway event on the West Side Friday.

There was also an event on the South Side last week.

The Christmas in the Wards organization is trying to make sure that kids are excited and ready to start school next week.

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Parents and students lined up at Malcolm X College, collecting books, clothes and other supplies for everything they need to begin school. Organizers said it's an effort to improve communities by starting from the ground up through education.

"We just wanna show these families they are truly loved, and we have to come out and support them and make it work for them," Christmas in the Wards Founder Larry Huggins said.

Demetrius Young and his wife, Caitlin, homeschool their three kids. They say that makes school supplies even more expensive than if they went to public school.

"Having these kind of events with supplies and things for the year really helps us out because we coming out-of-pocket with a lot of educational things we're doing," Demetrius Young said.

"Books and backpacks and clothing, it's amazing because everything is so expensive right now," Caitlyn Young said.

Sponsors have donated all kinds of supplies, including backpacks and books and clothing, including shirts and tops and shoes. And in the hallway, they also provided haircuts for kids.

"We want to encourage kids to go back to school and be well-prepared to go back. That's really important," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

Organizers say that's why the corporate community is really important. They have a number of sponsors who donate a lot of what the Christmas in in the Wards group gives away. For them it is Christmas every day.

"There's folks who want to give to people, but need an apparatus to do it. A lot of folks come together and help us out," Christmas in the Wards Board member Walter Burnett said.

A study by the National Retail Federation said families will spend about $863 on back-to-school supplies and clothing.