City of Yuma holds 10th Annual Back To School Rodeo

Drive-thru style event offers free school supplies for children

Yuma, Ariz. (KYMA, KCEY) - While some parents may be heading to the store to get their children back-to-school supplies for this time of year, others went to the yearly Back To School Rodeo event at the Yuma Civic Center on Saturday.

"This year, we are giving 1,800 backpacks full of school supplies; and we’re just very happy for the community," Adriana Del Rio, the City of Yuma's digital communications coordinator said.

For the second year in a row, the event was done drive-thru style, with parents driving up to grab free bags of school supplies for their kids.

About 30 volunteers gathered together to get bags ready and hand them out early Saturday morning.

For those who helped out, like Armando Gonzalez, whose business Krazy Kutting sponsored the event, getting kids the things they need for school was a very rewarding task.

"Well I mean, it's a great event, right? It has everything to do with kids, which is our future, so when they’re gonna hand out backpacks, especially after what we’ve just gone through for a year and half; I mean, it’s a great opportunity," Gonzalez shared.

Others who volunteered, like Kristin Boyko, were happy to provide for kids who may not typically have the necessary school supplies otherwise.

"They get to come, and they have a huge smile on their face knowing that it’s going to be less of a stressor when their teacher says, ‘Hey bring out your pencil,’ and they actually have a pencil," Boyko commented.

Even law enforcement, in addition to Yuma Police Department, came out to help the cause.

Michael Mitchell, a public information officer for the Winterhaven California Highway Patrol, also contributed to the success of the event.

"To put this on is a very huge deal. It provides services; it provides all the supplies that these kids need to go back to school, especially for those in a struggling economy like we are right now. To provide this kind of a resource is just tremendous," Mitchell expressed.