Providing Resources and Essentials to Prepare Kids for School

Saturday, August 24, 2024 – our 9th annual event!

We want all kids to have a great start to the school year and reach their fullest potential!

Registration is required. Registration will open July 1, 2024 and will close upon reaching 350 registrations.

  • For each registered child, we provide new sneakers, socks, and underwear, along with a donated (used) age-appropriate book.
  • For each family, we provide shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, a packet of community resources, and snacks for school.
  • The event serves kids from grades Pre-K to 12th grade from all school districts of Cortland County.
  • Preregistration is required. We prepare an individualized bag for each child with their specific size of sneakers, socks and underwear to ensure they have a good fit. Please check the sizes your child/children need prior to registration.
  • Items will be distributed at Homer Congregational Church on Saturday, August 24 from 9 am – 12 noon.
    • Children do not need to be present at time of pick up.
    • If transportation is an issue, a friend or family member can pick up on your behalf. However, due to the number of registrants and available volunteers, we are unable to deliver items to you. Please only register if you can reasonably plan to pick up the items.
    • For 2024, Homer Congregational Church commits to providing new sneakers, socks, underwear and hygiene items to the first 350 kids registered. Due to available funding, after we have reached 350 registrations, we will close registration and will not have a waiting list.
    • Items are purchased specifically for the children registered to match their sizes. Failure to pick up items will forfeit your ability to register for the event in the future.

Foot Measuring for Sneaker Sizes

We want to help kids get the right size sneaker! We encourage you to visit a local shoe store to have your child’s foot measured – or you can do so at home. If you have the ability to print, you can use the sizing guide below. Or watch the video about how to measure your child’s foot for sneakers with just a piece of paper and a ruler.

Printable Sizing Guide
Sizing Video

Registration

Please complete one form per child. You will receive a confirmation email upon successful registration. Save for future reference.

Register a Child

Sponsor a Child

To sponsor a child, we ask that you commit to purchasing a new pair of sneakers, a new pack of underwear, and a new pack of socks. Sponsors will receive by email the child(ren)’s age, grade, shoe size, underwear size and favorite color.

We ask that you return purchased items to the church by Saturday, August 17.

You can drop off items at Homer Congregational Church during weekly office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 am – 12 pm. Additionally, you can drop off items items at the church on either Saturday, Aug. 3 or Saturday, Aug. 17 from 9-11 am. If you need to make alternate arrangements to drop off items, email [email protected].

When dropping off items, please put items for one child in each bag and label each bag with your first/last name and age/gender/grade of child. This will help us match up the items to the correct child.

Thank you for your support!

Sign up to be a sponsor

Donate

Want to support PREP with a financial donation – and let us buy the items? Checks, payable to Homer Congregational Church, can be mailed with “Back to School PREP” in the memo line. Or donate online via Tithely and in the notes section, indicate “Back to School PREP.” Thank you for your support!

Donate

2024 Event Sponsors