Johnson County United Way’s Fast Track to serve at least 2,000 students

The hunt was on.

Inside the multi-purpose room at Clark-Pleasant Middle School, backpacks of all shapes, sizes and colors were spread out on tables. Some were solid colors — red, teal, pink, black and fluorescent orange. Others had pop culture themes, from “Frozen” to Batman.

Participants in the United Way of Johnson County’s Fast Track distribution walked from table to table, searching for the perfect bag to set the tone for the new school year. Easton Hargraves, who’s going into first-grade, eyed each table carefully, until he found the one he wanted: a tropical-themed backpack with Stitch, the Disney character, emblazoned on it.

He wasted no time trying it on.

“It’s really good,” he said, showing the backpack off as he left the event.

The United Way of Johnson County continued its efforts to get school supplies to families in need on Thursday, as the agency and its supporters were able to load up more than 500 students at the Clark-Pleasant schools event. Among the county’s six school districts, organizers had reservations to distribute 2,000 fully-loaded backpacks.

Seeing the excitement among the kids — and their parents — at the event made Fast Track incredibly impactful, said Ruby Butler, culture and belonging coordinator for Clark-Pleasant Community School District and coordinator of the district’s Fast Track event.

“Times are hard for all of our families, and back-to-school can be very expensive. Families are thinking about new school clothes, new gym shoes and supplies. Any way we can lift the burden for our families, partnering with the United Way has helped us do that,” she said.

Fast Track has been a mid-summer tradition for the United Way for many years, to ensure low-income students are well-equipped for school. The need has never been greater, said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director of the United Way of Johnson County.

After serving 1,463 students in 2022 and 1,876 students last year, reservations for the event are right at 2,000 for 2024.

To make Fast Track work, the United Way relies on the generosity of donors to get items to kids who need them. Businesses throughout the county collect supplies throughout July, and volunteers bring in thousands more items during the Stuff the Bus event, which was held this year on July 12.

Members of the community stepped forward to volunteer to transport supplies to the different schools, sort them, store them and ensure the whole event was seamless, Plake said. More than 200 volunteers are needed to make Fast Track a reality.

“The volunteers and the donors have been awesome,” Plake said. “From delivering business collection-site materials, to collecting those site materials, to packing all of the school supplies — we’ve had more than 100,000 items packed — it takes a huge effort.”

The reason so much work goes into Fast Track is the overwhelming impact it has. The feedback on the program has been positive from parents. According to a United Way survey, 99% of parents who attended event said it reduced their stress about providing their child with supplies for the first day of school and that their child was more prepared for school because of it.

Among local teachers, 95% said children equipped with needed supplies reduce stress on the first day of school.

Families can also receive guidance and direction to community resources if they have a particular need. Agencies such as Great Harvest Food Pantry, Adult & Child, Firefly, the Johnson County Public Library and many more set up tables to distribute information and inform participants about programs available to them.

“In one swoop, families can find out so much about resources, and talk one-on-one with the people who want to help them and help their families thrive,” Plake said.

Representatives from Duke Energy were on hand to discuss options to help families in need pay their energy bills, as well as assistance available. The company’s foundation had provided $5,000 to help ensure Fast Track had enough school supplies for everyone who needed them.

Being able to meet families in a one-stop-shop like this is advantageous for everyone, said Jean Renk, manager of government and community relations for Duke Energy.

“We want our customers to know there are different payment options and billing programs we have to help with their utility costs. We know that everything is expensive right now, and this is the best way to get to a concentrated group in one place, so we wanted to be a part of it,” she said.

At Clark-Pleasant, teachers from across the district worked to ensure their families and students had a positive experience.

“It is a team effort, from the custodians to representatives from every school. We get excited when it comes to Fast Track; it’s hard work, but we get excited about it. It’s like the sign that school is about to start,” Butler said.

Everything was ready for the families when the doors opened at the middle school. Participants came in waves, as school volunteers ushered them through the community resource area before moving on to the school supplies. Each family had a volunteer to guide them, helping find the proper supplies for elementary, middle and high school students.

The kids made their way table to table marveling at the selection as they stuffed their backpacks with markers, crayons, notebooks, folders and more. Each child received about $50 worth of supplies — a benefit for families who might struggle to find extra money to cover those costs.

“It means a lot, because sometimes it’s hard financially when you’re a single mom with two kids. It helps a lot, it takes away a lot of the stress heading back to school,” said Bailey Hargraves, Easton’s mom.

Fourth-grader Bennett Prine had come to the event with his great-grandfather, David Harold. The two walked among the different stations, picking up scissors, pencil cases, notebooks and more.

Asked about his favorite item he picked out, Bennett held up the slick black backpack holding all of his supplies.

Similar excitement played out countless times throughout the evening. Seeing so much enthusiasm among the children, and the appreciation of the parents and guardians, meant Fast Track was a success, Plake said.

She was thankful for all of the support ensuring it came together.

“We could not pull this off without our community coming together and wrapping their arms around our students, helping them to have the best first day of school,” Plake said.

AT A GLANCE

Fast Track

Students served

2024: 2,000 (number of reservations made; final tally not available yet)

2023: 1,876

2022: 1,463

2021: 1,807

2020: 2,091

— Information from the United Way of Johnson County