MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There was a big school giveaway on Tiger Lane Saturday, but because of the recent rise in COVID cases, parents and students had to stay inside their vehicles.
“We had to put it outside because we don’t want to have a super spreader event trying to help people,” said Allison Fouche, Deputy Chief Communications Officer for Memphis.
Marion School District students, staff already quarantined going into first full week of school.
Shelby County Schools return to the classroom on Monday, August 9, and the city wants to make sure they have everything they need to start the year right.
“The cars were lined up at 8 am, so that shows me there is a need for the things,” said Fouche
Around 1,100 backpacks were donated by Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church and the iHeart Media group. Students also left with pencils and notebooks and gift cards and vouchers for haircuts, uniforms, and food.
SCS to require all students, faculty to wear masks for the upcoming school year
Kids 12 and older and their parents were also offered the COVID vaccine. David Irvy and Marquita Haywood’s daughters both got the shot.
“So they can go to school and not get infected, and they need to get it under control,” Irvy said.
Students will have to wear masks inside school buildings, something they told us they weren’t pleased about.
Haywood and Irvy, though, said they were relieved their children were returning in-person learning and hoped that didn’t change during the school year.
“They can learn more in school. It’s more hands-on,” said Irvy.
Other parents, though, said they were nervous about their kids going back.
“I kind of cried because I was so used to her being at home,” said Jasmine Timmons.
But Timmons admitted her daughter was excited about returning to the classroom.
Methodist Le Bonheur and Book Nook also teamed up to provide backpacks to elementary students in Shelby County.