Free school supplies, food and snow cones will be available to local youth at the Back-To-School Cookout on Saturday, Aug. 3 at East Lawrence Recreation Center.
The cookout will be hosted by StopGap Inc., a grassroots nonprofit that aims to empower youth aging out of foster care and who are at risk of homelessness.
StopGap was founded by Justine Burton in 2008, a decade after she overcame her own experiences with homelessness.
“I just want people to know, especially the youth, that resources like StopGap are here for them, to help them in any way we can,” Burton said.
An estimated $2,500 was spent on school supplies and food, Burton said. Attendees will have hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and beverages available to them — along with school supplies including backpacks, water bottles, notebooks, binders, craft supplies and more.
Community members will also be able to fight off the summer heat with free snow cones from Rainbow Ice, run by Jane Harris and Marlene Rockwell.
“The whole trunk of my car is packed. My back seat is packed with food,” Burton said. “I know a lot of other organizations do the same thing, and I just like to make sure no kids are left out.”
The cookout is open to all ages, with a focus on providing resources to local youth. It’s set for noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 at the rec center, 1245 E. 15th St.
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Lane Rozin (he/they), a contributor to the Lawrence Times, is a student at the University of Kansas Schools of Journalism and Film. He is a graduate of Pittsburg High School, where he was the multimedia editor for the Booster Redux/Pitt Media in 2019-21. He is currently the arts & culture editor at the University Daily Kansan and a radio show host at KJHK. See more of his work for the Times here.
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