MILWAUKEE — A line of people extended out the door of South Division High School and around part of the block. A month before school starts, parents in the line were here to give their children by their side a chance at a successful future.
For those who struggle to afford learning essentials, school supplies, backpacks, resource outreach and clothes awaited them inside. All provided by South Division.
"Seeing all these people lining up, it shows the real necessity of our community," Keilyn Borrero, a drive coordinator said. "Sometimes it can take one group of people to make things happen for those that are in need."
Borrero, who works as a parent coordinator at South Division during the school year, helps put the event together not as part of her job requirements but as a personal mission to help her community succeed.
In it's fourth year, the event is kept alive with fundraising and donations at South Division.
"I feel super blessed with the turnout and being able to give back to the community which is one of the main goals at our school," Borrero said. "It's super rewarding."
Last year, the event had around 500 people attend, but this year, the coordinators are expecting a lot more. They prepared 600 backpacks stuffed with school supplies.
A lot of Milwaukee Public School kids dread going back to school, but for 8-year-old Kemarrion, a third-grader at Milwaukee Academy of Science, this drive makes him excited.
"I can't wait to go back to school and have new stuff in my book bag," Kemarrion said as he proudly flashed his new blue shark backpack.
Jose Trejo, South Division principal, emphasized the community support seen at this supplies drive has always been central to the school's mission.
"It's very exciting for us," Trejo said. "South Division has a long history of being at the center of this community so we're very excited about being able to host an event like this."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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