Broken Arrow Police Give Away School Supplies At 'Back To School Bash'

Broken Arrow Public Schools pushed back its start date for the year, but the Broken Arrow Police Department wanted to make sure kids were ready to head back to class. 

More than 100 volunteers gave back at The Assembly Church on Saturday.

"We just really didn't feel like we could cancel it,” Broken Arrow Police Department crime prevention specialist and event coordinator Lisa Ford said. 

Ford said they had to cut back on certain vendors like eye exams and haircuts due to COVID-19 concerns. Finding a way to keep the event on was most important to Ford and the department.  

"If we could do nothing else but just a drive-thru backpack distribution, then that's what we would do,” Ford said. “We decided just to scale it down way back like we did and still give out the backpacks and just have a few vendors here.”

Students had access to whatever they would need for the upcoming school year whether it was crowns folders or a backpack.

"Even those kids doing virtual learning, they're still going to need supplies,” Ford said. “Either way, I think this event will help if you do virtual or in-person (learning).”

Volunteer Abigail Johnson said she gets a special feeling seeing the community pool together.

"I've seen people walk around and say, ‘How can I help?’” Johnson said. “Just seeing people doing that in a situation like what's going on in the world today. That's so cool to see: the unity.”

"The kids still need backpacks,” Ford said. “They still need immunizations. They still need that information to be able to have a successful back to school experience."