ATLANTA — More than 1,000 Atlanta schoolchildren will receive free back-to-school essentials today thanks to Hosea Helps' annual Back 2 School Jamboree.
The event is going on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park. Students will receive free bookbags with supplies, grocery boxes and other necessities, according to Hosea Helps, as well as new shoes courtesy of Foot Locker Atlanta.
Interested families need to pre-register at Hosea Helps' website. This year's jamboree will be the 16th annual edition of the event, and is being sponsored by Microsoft in addition to Foot Locker.
"The Back 2 School Jamboree was started 16 years ago to provide underserved children with the necessary resources and supplies to be successful in school," a release said.
The jamboree will be held as a drive-thru event.
In addition to the back-to-school drive, Hosea Helps conducts a feeding program for schoolchildren ever summer called "No Summer Hunger."
That program "provides healthy, nutritious meals to children in food-insecure communities in metro Atlanta" through the delivery of "meal kits that include breakfast, lunch, and snacks to more than 1,400 children at designated drop-off locations each week beginning in mid-June and running thru the end of July via the 'Hosea on the Move' mobile unit."
One of Atlanta's most visible charitable groups, Hosea Helps says it is always in need of volunteers, who can register with the organization here, as well as donations which can be made on their website, through texting 20222 to HOSEA, via CashApp to $Hoseahelps or by mail to P.O. Box 4672, Atlanta, GA 30302.