BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The annual Ready, Set, Back-2-School event took place this year at the Kern County Museum grounds, with Kern County Child Support Services expecting more than 1,800 attendees to arrive before noon.<\/p>\n
With more than 94 booths, the event on Friday offered families more than just backpacks and school supplies \u2014 it also served as an opportunity to connect with wellness resources.<\/p>\n
For Jennifer Tsosie, attending for the second year, the event’s impact extends beyond her own household.<\/p>\n
“Some mothers have been going through financial hardships and this has been a very very amazing blessing,” Tsosie said.<\/p>\n
Beyond free backpacks and school supplies, Tsosie said the event helped her stretch her family’s budget in other ways.<\/p>\n
“Since my girls got help with their shoes, I get to put the money on the side to get my older son shoes since they didn’t have that available for the older ones this year,” Tsosie said.<\/p>\n
One of this year’s participants was Mind Divers, a clinic focused on supporting families through mental health and psychiatric care. The clinic donated 100 backpacks for children at the event.<\/p>\n
Victoria Gonzaga, the clinic’s manager, said the organization was glad to give back.<\/p>\n
“We wanted to give back to the kids and had a good school year coming up,” Gonzaga said.<\/p>\n
Gonzaga said Mind Divers plans to return next year to continue showing support for the children of Kern County.<\/p>\n
Toni Kendrick, the director of Kern County Childcare Services, said the emotional weight of the event goes beyond the donations themselves.<\/p>\n
“It’s just heartwarming to know that we’re helping give families something who may not have a lot. We say this from year to year but this is like Christmas for them. It makes me proud,” Kendrick said.<\/p>\n
For Tsosie, the effort put in by the county and volunteers does not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n
“Volunteers and everybody coming together to put this program on, I couldn’t be more happy about it,” Tsosie said.<\/p>\n
Events like this help ease the cost of getting ready for a new school year, especially when the savings can be put toward other family needs.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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