JCPS families take care of back-to-school shopping for free in west Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Stacey Rae matched her daughter's excitement Tuesday morning as she shared with her all the makeup she was able to find.

Ray, a mother of two, came out to Jefferson County Public Schools' Clothing Assistance Program's Back to School clothing blitz. Nearly 100 JCPS families signed up to do their back-to-school shopping in CAP on West Jefferson Street in the Russell neighborhood.

"This is one less thing that I don't have to stress over a least for a few months," Rae said.

On Tuesday morning, families who showed up at CAP were given a bag with essentials like uniform pants, sock and a belt. They were then given another bag and told to load up from the racks of clothes, bins of jewelry, shoes, stuffed animals, personal hygiene products and more.

All of it was free.

CAP is a partnership between the district and the 15th District PTA to provide clothing, shoes and accessories to JCPS students and their families. The program is open to all families and does not have income guidelines.

"All they have to do is express a need to that school service worker and they can schedule them with us," said Justin Willis with CAP. "it's a whole lot of little bit that we can offer to make the year start a little better and a little more exciting for school kids."

It's a back-to-school blessing for many still struggling to make ends meet.

"They're able to actually look around and see what they can find," Rae said Tuesday. "I don't have to really worry about how expensive it is right now and am I going to be able to afford that and still get the bills paid."

There are still appointments available for Saturday, Aug. 3. To book yours, click here.

For families needing assistance getting school supplies, there are more than a dozen back-to-school events scheduled around the city, offering supplies for free thanks to local churches, nonprofits, companies, JCPS and Metro Government. For a list of those events, click here.

And click here to see the district's page with all the new information about the next school year.

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