NORFOLK, Va. — Hundreds of children from Naval Station Norfolk got new school supplies on Saturday before kicking off the school year.
Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit, partnered with Southern New Hampshire University, Dollar Tree and local partners like Walmart to host its 16th annual Back-to-School Brigade. According to a news release, 360 children got backpacks full of school supplies this year.
The distribution on Saturday was held at the Springhill Suites on Newton Road from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The cost of new school supplies can make for a financially stressful situation. Frequent deployments and changes in station that come with being in the military community can take an even harsher toll.
The Back-to-School Brigade program has saved families more than $60 million in back-to-school expenses since its 2008 start, the release said.
Operation Homefront's mission is to build strong, stable and secure military families. According to the release, 85% of Operation Homefront expenditures go to programs that support military families each year.
