Students ready for 2026-2027 school year
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An estimated 450 students received free backpacks and assorted school supplies at the annual Give a Child a Chance event held Friday, July 24, announced Michelle Rains, with Bledsoe County Coordinated School Health.
“It was one of the best attended Give a Child a Chance events we’ve held,” she said.
TCAT Upper Cumberland stylist and barber students provided free haircuts for 50 students, helping them look their best for school which starts Monday, August 3.
From the time the doors of Bledsoe County High School opened at 9:00 a.m. until the noon cutoff, there was a steady line of students excited to receive a backpack donated by Tennessee’s First Lady Maria Lee. She has provided backpacks for the students since her husband has been in office, said Rains, even coming in the past to personally hand out backpacks to the students.
After students picked out a backpack, they made their way around the gymnasium filling them up with free supplies including glue sticks, notebook paper, scissors, composition books, folders, erasers, and more. Parents and students were given information on health, wellness, fitness, and foods. TCAT Practical Nursing instructor and students offered vision screenings and blood pressure checks.
Numerous businesses, organizations, and volunteers donated items and their time to hand out the various supplies and information. Some clothing was also available for students to take home.
Students were able to register for bicycles being given away by the Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Jimmy Morris. The winners are to be announced in the coming week.
As they exited the building, they had one more stop – the Bookmobile – where they could pick out free books to take home and read.
There were about 115 vendors present from 52 different businesses and organizations, reported Laura Anderson with the Coordinated School Health for Bledsoe County Schools. Around 45 volunteers donated their time and hard work to make the day a success, she added.
Those providing or handing out school supplies, information or assisting in the day included: BTC Fiber, Citizen Tri-County Bank, First Farmers and Commercial Bank, Nurture the Next, Pikeville Family Dentistry, TCAT Upper Cumberland, Avalon Center, Sequachee Valley Electric, Southeast Tennessee Human Resources, Crye-Leike Brown 1st Choice Realty and Auction, Bledsoe County Health Department, Circuit Court Clerk Michael Walker, Stephens Pharmacy, Pikeville United Methodist Church, The Bledsonian-Banner, Center Stone, Southeast Tennessee Development, Erlanger/Erlanger Bledsoe, Presley Heath Care/Pikeville Urgent Care, Mountain Valley Bank, 12th Judicial District Children’s Advocacy Center, Gifts from Gab/Gabby Franklin, First Southern Baptist Church, Chattanooga Food Bank, Virnig Manufacturing, Bledsoe County Nursing Home, Walker Land and Auction Services, Bledsoe County Trustee Zach Olendorf, Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department, United Liver, BCHS Cheer, Cumberland Fellowship, Eye Centers of Tennessee, Hamilton County Coalition, Volunteer Behavioral Health, Vocational Rehab, Sequatchie Valley Headstart, Cash Express, Farm Bureau, FCE, River Valley AgCredit, Pikeville Church of God, Department of Human Services, TC Thompson Children’s Hospital, CHANT-TDOHand numerous Bledsoe County School System employees.
“It was a great day to be from Bledsoe County,” said Anderson, “where there is so much love for our youth!”
