Back to School event fills 500 backpacks for Floyd County children

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WSAZ) - The city of Prestonsburg Back to School event filled 500 backpacks for children in Floyd County.

“It’s outstanding that we have the opportunity to give back to the kids especially,” said Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton.

Students entering kindergarten through 5th grade received a backpack loaded with school supplies during the event, which was held in a drive-thru fashion.

“Even if they are home, they’re going to need paper, books, pencils. For the parents out there, we even put enough scratch pads in there for this new math. So, you can figure it out.”

Volunteer Brittany Hale saw another need in the community -- with more students learning remotely, she came up with a way to help keep them cool. She founded the Floyd County Fan Club for Kids; the club’s goal to help kids in the area who may be in need of fans.

“We saw this in Magoffin County. One of the stories there was a young man who was taking washcloths just to cool him down at night,” Hale said. “I saw that, and my heart went out to that. Our area in Floyd County probably has that need too. And it has. We’ve already delivered out 200 fans.”

Box fan drop off locations include Prestonsburg City Hall and Wildfire Designs, which is located at 256 Irene St.

“I hope we can do a small little thing for our area,” Hale said. “Our county does need a lot of help, and I think this is one way we can help the children in our area.”