Although area children probably don’t want to hear it, the start of the upcoming school system is only a few weeks away. For some reason, the summer break always seems to fly by.

This time of the year is one of the most hectic and stressful for parents, who have to gather supply lists from teachers and start finding everything their children need for school. Buying all the supplies can be expensive and in a poverty stricken area like Dallas County that can be a real problem.

Thankfully, there are plenty of organizations and churches holding backpack giveaways over the next few weeks.

First Baptist Church, located at 375 County Road 121 in Orrville, will host its third annual book bag/school supply giveaway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 23. Any child that hopes to receive a book bag must be present.

In August, the Selma Police Department will hold a Back to School Festival/Cops and Kids Day. Until then, the department is accepting school supply donations for its seventh annual School Assistant Drive.

Finally, the Michael Johnson Foundation will be holding a school supplies drive at some point. The date has yet to be announced.

We’re sure there’s probably other drives going on at other churches or being sponsored by other organizations.

We want to thank everyone who is doing their part in trying to make sure our children are prepared for the upcoming school year.