Back to School fairs are planned in Port Angeles on Aug. 19 and in Sequim on Aug. 26.
Organizers of Sequim’s annual Back to School Fair are hosting a “Stuff the Bus” event from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday outside the main entrance of the Sequim Walmart, 1110 W. Washington St.
There, they’ll hand out bags and a list of school supplies. Customers can shop for those needed items and put them in the bags supplied by the Sequim Food Bank, and drop them off with Boys & Girls Club volunteers to help fill an on-site bus.
Items collected at the “Stuff the Bus,” along with hundreds of other items donated by (or bought with funds from) local community groups will be distributed to students entering Sequim schools at the Back to School Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 26, at the Sequim unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula at 400 W. Fir St.
The Sequim fair is a partnership among the Sequim School District, United Way and Parenting Matters. Organizers expect to help about 600 students be ready with supplies when the 2023-24 school year starts on Sept. 6.
A number of vendors will be on site, handing out information and services about topics such as dental and vision care, Scouting, early years learning, Boys & Girls Club activities, police and fire department information, school district information and more.
Immunizations will be offered as well as free car seat checks. Vouchers for physicals will be available, and the Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition will have their “smoothie bike” at the fair.
There will be 300 pairs of girls sneakers to distribute, too.
Port Angeles
The Port Angeles School District, in partnership with Lutheran Community Services, will host the 15th annual Port Angeles Back to School Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 19 at Jefferson Elementary School at 218 E. 12th St., Port Angeles.
Families within Port Angeles are invited to come out for this in-person event.
Students and families will receive grade-specific school supplies and backpacks, barbecue lunches, health care information, clothing, haircuts and resources for the upcoming school year, which will begin on Sept. 5.
This year’s event will feature indoor and outdoor booths sponsored by local organizations and programs, including: Clallam Transit, North Olympic Healthcare Network, Olympic Community Action Programs’ Head Start, North Olympic Library Systems, Shore Aquatic Center and Port Angeles Food Bank.
Families will be able to visit information booths to learn more about bus routes, school nutrition services, and PASD family resources.
This year’s volunteers and donors include the Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles, Olympic Kiwanis of Port Angeles, Sound Community Bank, Steve Methner-State Farm Agency, Nor’Wester and Port Angeles Noon Rotary Clubs, Clallam County School Retirees Association and the Port Angeles Education Foundation.
