Moses Lake TCC to participate in free backpack giveaway
GABRIEL DAVIS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
Sales Representative Mariah Bernier stands inside TCC's Moses Lake location holding two backpacks for Sunday's 11th Annual School Rocks Backpack Giveaways.
Gabriel Davis/Columbia Basin Herald
An Ephrata student selects a backpack at a previous backpack giveaway at TCC Moses Lake. This year's event is Sunday.
The exterior of TCC's Moses Lake Verizon Authorized Retailer, which will give away one backpack per child during Sunday's Backpack Giveaway from 1 to 3 p.m.
Gabriel Davis is a resident of Othello who enjoys the connections with his sources. Davis is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University where he studied English and creative writing. During his free time, he enjoys reading, TV, movies and games – anything with a good story, though he has a preference for science fiction and crime. He covers the communities on the south end of Grant County and in Adams County. | July 24, 2023 5:42 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake branch of mobile phone retailer TCC will participate in the nationwide 11th Annual School Rocks Backpack Giveaway on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. according to TCC’s website.
Mariah Bernier, a sales representative at TCC Moses Lake, said that this year's giveaway is her first, which is why she took it upon herself to work with her superiors on organizing the event.
"I think it’s important," said Bernier. "I know that sometimes my parents would struggle with school supplies and things, so I definitely think that it's good for those people who might be less fortunate that they can at least provide their kids the baseline of what they need to be successful in school.
A press release from Round Room, Inc. — the holding company for TCC and Wireless Zone, which will also participate in the giveaway — announced Wednesday that the giveaway will provide 120,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to children across the United States. The supplies include paper, writing utensils and other classroom tools.
According to the release, the giveaway limits backpacks to one per child and are handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis at each retail location. Any backpacks that are left after the event are donated to a school of each location's choice.
"I know that we usually have a pretty good turnout though, so we’re hoping to go through it all," said Bernier. "We’re definitely trying to get word out so people do show up and know that we have that as something that they can come take advantage of.”
The Moses Lake branch of TCC participates in the Backpack Giveaway every year and also holds other outreach events such as a pet adoption event or working with schools, said Bernier.
"We just like doing community outreach in general just to give back, so that’s definitely the biggest motivation I think behind doing things like the backpack giveaway," said Bernier.
Bernier said that Pizza Hut is working with TCC Moses Lake to provide food for kids and family members during the event and that TCC has also reached out to a face painter to potentially provide face painting at the event.
"We kind of want to make it something fun for the kids too, so that the kids are actually able to get involved," said Bernier.
“The School Rocks Backpack Giveaway is our company’s cornerstone annual event,” wrote Round Room CEO Scott Moorehead in the press release. “The start of the school year is an exciting time for many, and we look forward each and every year to making school supplies more accessible for students so they can thrive in the classroom.”
TCC Moses Lake is located at 221 S. Pioneer Way. For more information on the School Rocks Backpack Giveaways, visit www.tccrocks.com/backpack-giveaway.
Gabriel Davis may be reached at [email protected]. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android today.
ARTICLES BY GABRIEL DAVIS
Work-based learning lets students build their own futures
MOSES LAKE — Work-based learning provides education opportunities for the workforce to receive hands-on training and technical education and prepare themselves to enter various industries. Educators and workforce development professionals from Eastern Washington discussed some the training they offer and the benefits of their programs. Next Generation Zone, an affiliate of WorkSource based in Spokane, provides job training opportunities for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24. Program Coordinator Kate Martin said there are multiple benefits to the program. “One of them is a paid work experience, and that’s where we reach out to area employers who are willing to take a young person and train them,” she said. “This is a short-term learning experience, so it’s typically about 240 hours; sometimes it could be longer or shorter. We’re the actual employer; we cover all of their wages, taxes, the L&I, and the employer just agrees to give them the experience and train them in whatever field it is that they’re wanting to go into.”
Serving schools: ESD superintendents reflect on operations, priorities
MOSES LAKE — Educational service districts are government-mandated agencies put in place to provide services to school districts across the state. ESD Superintendents discussed what they do and their priorities in operating their districts. ESD 105, led by Superintendent Kevin Chase, serves four counties, including Kittitas, Yakima and portions of Klickitat and Grant counties and provides support for 25 school districts – including Royal School District and Wahluke School District – and more than 66,000 students. “We help them collaborate with each other as well or collaborate with other partners,” Chase said. “(It’s) a lot of advocacy work, either regionally or across the state, or even federally, working on different issues that impact our education. And we provide very specialized services in certain situations in order to meet the needs of our students in our region and of our school districts.”
Columbia Basin Project making headway through Odessa Groundwater program
CASHMERE — The Columbia Basin Project is making gradual progress toward completion with particularly significant accomplishments for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in the last six months or so, according to Columbia Basin Development League Executive Director Sara Higgins. “When we’re dealing with a project of this size, advancement is kind of like watching paint dry, but yes, there have been (developments),” she said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening right now.” There are more than 300 miles of main canals, about 2,000 miles of lateral canals and 3,500 miles of drains and wasteways in the irrigation project, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation website. The CBDL advocates for the operation of those waterways and for the project to continue “build-out.”