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18th annual ‘Get Ready for School’ event a success

Earlier this month, the annual Get Ready for School event took place at Faith Lutheran Church, 431 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.

This community collaboration began 18 years ago by Faith Lutheran Church Pastor Thomas J. Sanders, emeritus, and Robert Ehlert, with the goal of helping those in the communities of Arlington Heights School District 25 and Community Consolidated School District 59.

Collaborators from across the community stepped up to ensure the efficiency of the event. Hosted by Faith Lutheran Church, the event brought together Arlington Heights services such as the library, police and fire departments, park district and the village, along with the Kiwanis Club, the Cook County Bus Company, the Good Neighbors Network, and other Arlington Heights businesses such as Sherwin Ace Hardware, to benefit families from the District 59 and District 25 communities.

“The goal of the program is to help students and families get ready for the school year,” said Lana O'Brien, executive assistant to the superintendent of Arlington Heights District 25. “Four hundred forty backpacks were provided with over 250 directly distributed to those students that attended.”

Families received backpacks filled with school supplies and there was a Resource Fair in the basement of the church featuring many services including haircuts and Kona Ice treats. Participants included the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Arlington Heights Park District, Arlington Heights Police and Fire departments, Arlington Heights Health & Human Services, Family Forward, the Faith Lutheran preschool Lambs of Faith, and Northwest Community Hospital. Students had the opportunity to interact with these and other collaborators to learn about the resources available in their community.

“After realizing the great support of the community and volunteers for so many years, we look forward to continuing this tremendous outreach as we plan for next year,” John Coates, president of the Arlington Heights Kiwanis Club and president of Faith Lutheran’s board of directors said.

Thank you to the volunteers, the event partners, and all the organizations who attended the resource fair.

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