Despite lightning, thunder and heavy rains from a storm that dragged over the city much of Saturday morning, well over 1,000 youngsters participated in the seventh annual BRAVE School Supply Give Away, receiving free classroom supplies while enjoying games and free food at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
BRAVE — the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department’s Banishing Racial Animosity Vigorously Everywhere chapter — stages the event just in time for the opening of the city’s schools each year, but it attracts children from throughout Southeast Arkansas.
“We’ve got kids from Star City, Rison, Sheridan and all around the area,” said BRAVE President Johnnie Brown. “We’re glad they’re here and happy that they were able to join us.”
The event started at 9 a.m., during an electrical storm that included heavy rains.
“But we’re inside here, and that helped us,” said Brown, noting that before last year’s move to the convention center the give-away was held outside. “The convention center staff has been a jewel. Whatever we’ve needed, they’ve taken care of for us.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
By noon, with just an hour of activities remaining, only about 300 of 3,000 bags of prepackaged school supplies were still available. The registration table was so busy that attendants Laverne Graham, Nia Hill, Paula Raya and Tangela Washington were challenged in their duties.
“This is a well-supervised event,” said Brown. “We’ve got folks from the sheriff’s office and police department here, and there’s been no incidents to worry about. Bottled water and hot dogs (as well as doughnuts and other foods) were provided. We’ve got about 50 wonderful volunteers helping us, and they are a big plus for us.”
BRAVE volunteers Sydney Reed and Kacy Wright were impressed by the number of visitors.
“It seems like we’ve seen thousands,” Wright said.
Sheila Moon, who was busily seeking potential bone marrow donors for a national cancer-fighting registry, said she thought the BRAVE event was “well-organized.”
Brown said the give-away provides an opportunity for BRAVE to reach out to and aid the community.
“We have so many people and groups that help us” he said. “And this year, we were able to get a lot of kids here that otherwise might not have been able to attend. The city transit department had buses bringing kids to and from different pickup points.”
Major sponsors of the event include Evergreen Packaging and Walmart.
“Walmart sells us school supplies at their cost,” Brown said. “Our sponsors help us so much.”
Participating students seemed pleased.
Siblings Tara Roberts, Alecksis Roberts and Austin Roberts – 8, 6 and 4, respectively – recently moved here from Bastrop, La.
“I think it’s pretty cool that they give everyone free school supplies,” Tara said.
“I liked the bouncy houses they let us get into and I like all the free stuff, too,” said Alecksis, who revealed she’s considering a teaching career.
Austin is too young for school so he didn’t receive any supplies, but he had a good time and loved chatting about his expertise in fishing and boasting of catching a giant bream that he said weighed “about six pounds!”
“I’ve had fun,” said 10-year-old Ricketo Jordan. “I’ve been eating, playing and having fun, fun, fun. And I got lots of school stuff, too. It’s been a good day.”
His sister, 8-year-old Ja’Meisha Donson, said she had enjoyed “chasing my brother all around.”
Monitoring the two were older sister LaQuisha Robinson, a 15-year-old Pine Bluff High School sophomore who said her free supplies have served to “make me ready for school.”
“I’ve had lots and lots of fun,” said 5-year-old Tre’ Qualls. “I got all kinds of cool school supplies and I got to play a lot. I didn’t eat because I’m not hungry and had already eaten, but I could have eaten if I had wanted to. The food looked good, so I think if I come back again, I might not eat before I get here.”