Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, August 2, 2010

Nearly two dozen neighborhoods will host the fifth annual Ready, Set, Go! Neighborhood Back-to-School Rallies on Saturday Aug. 7.

The event will provide 8,000 low-income students with backpacks and school supplies to help them succeed in school. For the first time, every neighborhood site will distribute supplies for all grade levels.

Grassroots supporters also plan for activities, resource booths, entertainment, food, speakers and door prizes. And at Duncan Park (530 N. Limestone), the University of Kentucky's College of Dentistry's mobile dental van will host exams for incoming kindergarteners from 10 a.m. to noon.

Stu Silberman, superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools, will drop by many of the rally sites. Board of Education members, district directors, principals, teachers, family resource and youth service center coordinators, and other FCPS staff will also participate.

“The neighborhood back-to-school rallies are great for our community as it sends the message that school is about to start and brings people together in a very positive atmosphere,” Silberman said. “We are so fortunate to have a community that supports our kids and provides them with needed supplies to start school. Thanks to LexLinc and all the partners who stepped forward to help.” 

LexLinc coordinates the rallies. The backpacks are provided by E.ON U.S., the parent company of Kentucky Utilities. Other major partners include the Jackson Family Fund at Blue Grass Community Foundation and the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government.

This year’s theme is “Live Green Lexington.” The city’s Department of Environmental Quality and its community partners, such as Bluegrass PRIDE, will be on hand to promote recycling and other healthy practices.

Note:

To receive school supplies, families must register at their neighborhood site between 8 and 10 a.m. The backpacks will be distributed at noon. The student must be present to pick up supplies.  

• Rally sites

For more information, call the United Way at 2-1-1 or LexCall at 3-1-1.