Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Community Church held its 15th annual back-to-school supplies event for Lake Region students at its Southeast Palmetto Avenue campus on July 6 and 7.
Steering Committee member Jennifer Cumbus said students could pick up free shoes, socks, underwear, personal hygiene products and up to five changes of clothes.
“We just want to get students off to a good start and help families out,” she said of the event. “We just feel really, really passionate about showing love.”
Cumbus, who teaches special education at Keystone Heights Elementary School, added that the back-to-school event is an outgrowth of the church’s bimonthly rummage sales.
Cumbus said that, unlike the rummage sales, the annual school event is supported by a wide array of community groups, including Lake Region Kiwanis, area churches, and individual volunteers from Starke to Melrose.
She said around 100 volunteers supported the 2023 event, which would assist 321 students from 148 families.
Cumbus said the volunteers particularly appreciate the opportunity to pray with families during the event. She said that this year, the church is giving away new devotional books to students.
Another recent development for the event is its partnership with the Adidas outlet store in St. Augustine.
Cumbus said that throughout the year, the store’s manager alerts event organizers about upcoming deals and sales at what Cumbus describes as “ridiculous price breaks.”
“I know last year, right before Black Friday,” she recalled, “they said: ‘If you want to come over, I have a guy for you, and I’ll help you out. Get everybody loaded.’ All we had to do was pull out the sizes we needed.”
Cumbus said planning, purchasing and storing for the giveaway is a yearlong process.
She, along with Barbara Sullivan and Karen Powell, comprise the steering committee.
Cumbus said that the event is essential to her as a member of the Lake Region community.
“I’ve also taught at McRae Elementary,” she said. I’m in year 22, and I’ve only taught in our town. I grew up here. I’ve been at Community Church since I was 16 and raised my family here.”
