STERLING — Free school supplies will be available to students across Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties this summer through Grandma Bonnie’s School Supply Closet, a program run by Regional Office of Education #47. The program, which began at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sterling, continues to provide backpacks filled with essential items such as notebooks, pencils, folders, and crayons for students of all grade levels. Upcoming events include a Back to School Bash tomorrow at Wooden Wonderland Park in Dixon from 9 to 11 a.m. for preschool through third grade.
Tabatha Behrens, Attendance Support Specialist with the Regional Office of Education, said that they took on the task after the church closed three years ago.
“They didn’t want Grandma Bonnie’s School Supply Closet to not be a thing in our area anymore, They still wanted to serve students in our area,” she said. “And so when the church closed three years ago, the ROE picked it up.”
Giveaways for all grade levels follow on July 28 at Winifred Knox Memorial Library in Franklin Grove from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., July 31 at Elevate Youth Center in Sterling from 8 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., and August 4 at the Depot Museum parking lot in Amboy from 4 to 7 p.m.