East Austin families get free school supplies, clothing thanks to nonprofits

East Austin families at Back-to-School drive

Two nonprofits lent a hand Sunday to East Austin families by providing free school supplies and clothing at their annual back-to-school drive.

AUSTIN, Texas - Two nonprofits are lending a hand to East Austin families by providing free school supplies and clothing.

Crowds of parents and children stood in line for hours on Sunday under a pavilion for the 4th annual back-to-school drive put together by Impactful Inspirations Inc. and Little Treasures.

"It is a bigger need of help than I thought," said parent Regina Parker. "I am a single mother of three, so it is really helpful."

Stephanie Walker, event organizer and director of Impactful Inspirations, says there were more than 200 backpacks available for those in need.

"We just want as many kids to get as many backpacks as they can. All the backpacks are already filled with school supplies. We also have some undergarments on this table as well. Whatever we have is available to anybody, it is for free," said Walker.

Round Rock police Step N2 Success

The Round Rock Police Department held its third annual Step N2 Success event and provided over 880 kids with brand-new shoes to start the new school year.

The community event started at 3 p.m. and families were already in line around noon.

"You know everybody is trying to get free stuff, everybody is jumping in front of everybody," said Parker.

"It's first come-first serve. We gave tickets so everyone that has been here since 12 or 1:30 already have their tickets," said Walker.

According to Walker, the items were purchased with funds donated to the organizations by community members.

"We also have barbers and vouchers for free haircuts and free braids as well," said Walker.

"We brought our grandson here to get a backpack, and hopefully he can get some shoes. It's great. I didn’t have the money to give it to him, so it is great," said grandparent Stanley Hamilton.

The nonprofit director says there was also financial assistance provided to the families.

"It actually feels really good because growing up, I am from Austin, we didn't have this. We did not have this in our community for our parents to come and get the free school supplies and utilities and things that we needed," said Walker.

The nonprofit organizations did run out of supplies and say they plan to host another back-to-school drive next year.