Farmington Plans 11th Back To School Bonanza

Farmington's annual Back to School Bonanza comes about a week earlier than usual this year but everything else will be the same.

The 11th annual bonanza will be 5-7 p.m., Thursday, July 28 at Farmington United Methodist Church, 355 Southwinds Drive. All students in grades kindergarten-12th are welcome to attend for free haircuts, tennis shoes, backpacks and underwear.

The event is open to any children, regardless of income, address or school district. The child must be present to receive the free items. Children also can receive free kindergarten physicals and vision and dental screenings.

One new service this year will be an information table sponsored by Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. Families can sign up for smoke alarms and volunteers will install the detectors for participants.

More than 650 children and teenagers, representing 212 families from Farmington and surrounding areas, attended the Back to School Bonanza last year. Mary Jane Silva, coordinator, said she expects about the same number of children will participate this year and the church has enough shoes and other items for about 675 children.

She scheduled the Bonanza in late July to accommodate professionals who donate their time and also because school starts Aug. 15. This will help to avoid the back-to-school rush, Silva said.

Silva and other church members purchase shoes, underwear and backpacks throughout the year. Sometimes, items and money are donated to benefit the Bonanza. This year, for example, she said one of the managers at Payless Shoes on Martin Luther King Boulevard offered 400 pairs of shoes at a steep discounted price when the store closed earlier in the year.

The church also received a grant from Walmart Optical and received proceeds from the Farmington Stampede 5K race last fall. Another person dropped off two big, plastic tubs filled with backpacks.

Silva said she just seems to "walk into good deals." However, she quickly adds to that, "I know it's not a coincidence."

For more information on the Back to School Bonanza, call the church office, 267-3180.