Newport-Mesa Unified students, families get a leg up on the new school year ahead
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The start of the school year may not elicit much joy from the average kid, but Newport-Mesa Unified School District students were all smiles Saturday, as a back-to-school expo served up school supplies, activities and fun giveaways.
About 2,000 students and family members assembled outside IKEA Costa Mesa, where vendors, local groups and service providers offered free haircuts, shoes, hygiene kits and backpacks filled with school supplies.
A collaboration between NMUSD and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast, the event also offered free food, basic healthcare and housing services designed to ensure all the district’s learners have a strong start to the new academic year, which begins Aug. 18.
“The event is about bringing a collective impact to the Newport-Mesa community,” said Kristle Duran, chief operations officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast. “It’s about families coming together to take advantage of every resource they need, so their kids can start the school year on a level playing field.”
The nonprofit provides programming and after-school help and enrichment to students served by the district, particularly those living on Costa Mesa’s west side, and offer literacy, education and training programs for adults.
But Saturday’s event included service organizations such as Costa Mesa’s Share Ourselves and Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living, which serve people’s medical and mental health needs, regardless of socioeconomic status.
NMUSD spokeswoman Annette Franco expressed appreciation for the event’s many partners and their contributions, including name-brand shoes from the Crossing Church of Costa Mesa, haircuts from stylists of Revival Hair Outreach and a backpack assist from the Newport Balboa Rotary Club.
“This is an example of a community genuinely coming together to help out our kids,” Franco said, describing raffles with bike helmets and skateboards, face painting and balloon animals. “It was a whole community event, just to make sure our kids have what they need to start school.”
Duran agreed.
“It was a huge success and the best operation we’ve had in the last four years,” she said. “It just keeps getting better and better.”
