MUST, SBA Get Cobb Kids Ready for A New School Year

Cobb County students head back to school in less than a month and will make sure low-income students have backpacks and supplies thanks in part to a donation from the Smyrna Business Association.

MUST Ministries has provided school supplies for children in need for years, said Holly Casey, MUST Ministries Smyrna program director. She said that this initiative is about more than just pencils, notebooks and rulers.

“This really makes a difference in how they feel when they go to school,” she said. "It’s a great quality of life issue.”

Casey said that some parents have enough trouble providing for their families without the added stress of paying for school supplies.

"One mother just said, ‘You know, I haven’t been working," Casey said. "'Last year when it came time to by my child school supplies and a backpack I couldn’t afford it. I had to try to buy food or pay my electric bill and water bill. It made me cry when my child went to school and they saw all the other kids with their backpacks and their school supplies and I couldn’t supply the basic needs for my child to go to school.’"

To be eligible for help, parents must show that they and their children live and attend school in Smyrna or Marietta. This year, MUST will supply about 1,000 students from all grades with school supplies and backpacks.

MUST purchases school supplies with donations from the community. One donation came from the Smyrna Business Association. On July 14, Kurt Johnson of SBA presented Casey with a $500 check at the mayor’s state of the city address in Smyrna. Casey was grateful for the support.

“SBA for many years has supported the back to school project,” she said. “They give donations to buy the actual supplies.”

MUST will distribute the backpacks and school supplies at its annual Back to School Festival on July 30 at First United Methodist Church of Marietta. The festival begins at 9 a.m. in the family life hall and includes children’s activities like face painting, music and dancing. 

“One of the wonderful things about this program is the backpacks are all laid out according to the age of the child, what grade they’re going into,” Casey said. “And the children actually get to go in with all the backpacks and just pick out the one that calls their name.”

MUST Ministries will continue to accept school supply donations at its Smyrna office through Thursday. If you want to donate, check the list of needed items.