SWISSVALE, Pa. — Dozens of kids in the Woodland Hills School District are getting backpacks, resources and haircuts to get them ready for the school year.
It’s the junior high’s first “Beyond the Backpack” event organized by Domonique Brown-Taylor and DJ Dutrieuille, the incoming and outgoing senior class presidents.
The students worked with the principal to see which area in the district most needed extra help.
Volunteers like Cathy Welsh said organizers hope the event will grow each year.
“Sometimes you have all these alumni that are fancy, and all these NFL players and authors and all the things, but you don’t see them come back and you don’t see them give back this deeply. So for young people still in high school and just graduating, this is like a breath of fresh air,” mentor Cathy Welsh said.
The distribution event was held at the Dickson Steam Academy on Schoyer Avenue in Swissvale on Monday.
Over 80 students signed up for the event. They were given hygiene supplies, a water bottle, books and a snack along with their school supplies.
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