We all know the excitement of getting ready for the first day of a new school year. Shopping for school clothes and packing a fresh backpack with brand new school supplies is a time-honored ritual for most students across the country. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case for some students whose families are struggling to make ends meet; where providing the basic necessities for day to day living can be a challenge.

Thanks to the collaborative partnership between AidNow and the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Office of School Social Work Services, more than 390 students and their families started their new school year off on a positive note – prepared for their classes to start this week.

Nearly 600 students were invited to participate in this year’s 2014 Jump Start, a back to school event held Thursday, Aug. 21, at Larkspur Middle School as a way to help families whose children are currently registered in Virginia Beach schools and are either homeless or had been in the past school year.

Students from 75 schools throughout the division were assisted by a volunteer personal shopper. Each student was properly fitted for a new pair of shoes, made possible through private donations and PayLess Shoes. If a student couldn’t find the right shoe in their size, they were given gift cards and invited to one of the area stores to finish their shopping.

Not only could students look forward to being fashionably attired for the start of the school year, but thanks to the Rudy and Kelly Academy, each one also received a stylish new haircut.

“We want to give our future professionals an opportunity to give back to our community,” said Emily Garcia, education leader of Rudy and Kelly Academy. “We want them to think beyond their school education and continue to make a difference as they enter the business world. Shouldn’t we all promote being nice?”

Mom, Tiffany B., sat with her other children while watching her son, Kieran’s, face.

“He is beyond thrilled to go to school; ready to get his supplies and ready to learn,” she said. “I’m out of work right now and trying to keep up with everything. How could I afford to do all of this? I’m just grateful to live in this city. I didn’t realize if you ask, VBCPS has so many programs to offer families who are struggling—housing, clothing, transportation…sometimes people just need a hand to get back on their feet.”

New to the event, which has been in place for the past four years thanks to community donations and the efforts of more than 100 volunteers, were eight local Lions Clubs who administered free vision screening using SPOT, a Welch-Allyn PediaVision  binocular auto refractor that detects abnormal focusing in children. If amblyopia (often referred to as “lazy eye”) is not detected by the time children are 5 to 6 years of age, it becomes increasingly difficult to treat. By the time they are 10, the chances of correcting the causes of the problem rapidly diminish.

“Parents may not take small children in for vision tests and young children don’t realize they may have a vision problem as they have nothing to compare it to,” said Lion Nancy Watters, children’s services chair for the organization.  “So when a child is struggling to read, it may not be a reading deficit at all. We want to help to identify vison issues early to help students learn and make them more successful in school and in life.”

Parents were given a printout of the results and more than 40 students were referred to an ophthalmologist for further evaluation if there was a potential presence of hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness) or astigmatism (blurred vision).

Food Lion increased their giving from past years by bringing hundreds of pounds of food and fresh fruit that were prominently displayed in Food Lion Feeds bags. Walgreens had bags with toiletries and a few treats for every student. Many needed assistance leaving the building as they were loaded down with backpacks, clothing, food, snacks and more.

This year’s JumpStart was extremely successful as evidenced by the smiles on the faces of the volunteers and the participants.

“I am grateful beyond words for the initiative and passion AidNow, led by Jessie Calevas and Ann Christy, has for our students and for their support that allows us to offer this service to our families,” said Gay Thomas, coordinator in the VBCPS Office of School Social Work Services.

For more information about this event or other services provided to families and students in Virginia Beach schools, contact Thomas at 757-263-2300 or m.gay.thomas@vbschools.com.