Military children in Groton got a jumpstart on picking up school supplies for the new school year.
On Wednesday, about 175 children received free backpacks and school supplies as part of the Back-to-School Brigade. Operation Homefront is the organization that facilitated the supply drive. Operation Homefront partnered with Dollar Tree, where, for the past six weeks, hundreds of stores have been soliciting customer donations.
“Our mission is to build strong, stable and secure military families so they can thrive, not just get by in, but thrive in the communities that they work so hard to protect,” said Joe O’Hara, the area director for Operation Homefront.
Many of the families said they were grateful for the extra help.
“I think it’s good that they’re available because a lot of people can’t afford the school supplies. But when you have a program such as this to help them to get what they need, I think it’s good,” said Jasmeen Brown, a student entering the 11th grade.