Can’t afford a school uniform or supplies? Penn Center has students covered.
Penn Center will give away school supplies to elementary students who can’t afford them during a Welcome Back to Family/Community Event from 4-6 p.m. Sunday.
Students attending St. Helena Elementary School, Lady’s Island Elementary School and Coosa Elementary School can get uniforms and supplies. Penn Center is located at 16 Penn Circle West on St. Helena Island.
Dr. Tonya Jenkins Allen, Penn Center director of education, said many families in the area cannot afford the cost of necessary school supplies.
And Penn Center Administration Charlene Spearen said the concept of free education for all students falls by the wayside when the organization is focusing its efforts on buying school supplies and uniforms for students.
“For it is clearly is evident that providing education for our children is not free,” Spearen said in a news release.
The event will also feature resource speakers and grab-and-go meals.
St. Helena Island-based Penn Center is where freed slaves went to school for the first time. Today, it preserves and tells the story of African Americans in South Carolina during Reconstruction following the Civil War, and later in the civil rights movement. It’s mission is promoting Penn’s history and culture through a commitment to education, community development and social justice.
