200 Northern Dauphin County Students Go on Shopping Sprees and Get Haircuts For Back to School – Thanks to Donation Drive

About 200 students in need from northern Dauphin County went shopping this week for clothes and school supplies – and got haircuts – just in time for the new school year.

The students shopped with their families at Wal-Mart in Elizabethville, thanks to donations from area residents and $7,000 in donated gift cards from the Salvation Army.

Dauphin County administers the donation and shopping events, which included a “Fill the Bus” event in July.

Smart Style (located inside the Wal-Mart) is a partner in the program, providing haircuts for kids who need one.

“Back to school is an exciting time, and it is even better for students who have a new pair of shoes, a backpack, and a haircut for their first day,” Dauphin County Commissioner George P. Hartwick III said.

County Commissioners Mike Pries and Chad Saylor joined families for shopping ventures at Wal-Mart on Aug. 17.

“You can see how much joy this program brings to kids and their families,” Commissioner Chair Pries said. “What a way to kick off the new school year.”

Bonnie Kent of the Northern Dauphin Human Services Center is a coordinator of the program, which started in 2010 with an idea from a local Girl Scouts troop. Thirty-four kids benefitted from the inaugural event.

“This program has really grown, and we are now reaching dozens of kids at each of the four northern Dauphin County school districts,” Commissioner Saylor said.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett Hambright, Press Secretary, 717-780-6311; bhambright@dauphinc.org.