Each year families with children get ready for school, and that process is never cheap. In addition to new clothes, shoes and possibly even eyewear, families have to purchase paper, notebooks, pencils, pens and a plethora of other items in order to ensure their child has everything they need to be successful.

Parents in low-income households may find it difficult to provide the many necessary supplies their children will use when they go to school this week. Many may have to send those students to class without some of those items, putting the burden on the school or possibly even kindhearted teachers who purchase supplies out of their own pockets.

It’s expensive even for high earning families to acquire all of the items on a back-to-school list. And while some parents may expect the  school district to provide all of these items, especially since they pay taxes that are used to fund the operation of the schools, currently that responsibility falls on the parents.

To help those in need, several efforts have occurred here in Pearl River County, the most recent of which is at the Poplarville Lower Elementary by the Citizens Militia of Mississippi.

Another event is set for Saturday in Picayune at the South Side Elementary caffetorium. This event at the south end of the county has been funded for the past seven years by Picayune native Lorenzo Breland. Each year he returns to give back to the community he grew up in.

In order to receive supplies during this event, all a parent has to do is show up.

It’s commendable to think of others and provide assistance when possible. But these two events show that there are people who go above and beyond to better their communities.