We had so much fun hosting four “Back-to-School” festivals in New Hope, Antigua, San Rafael and San Miguel Milpas Altas in the month of January. It is a favorite time of year for many Common Hope staff and volunteers. We love connecting with the students and parents in each community and making sure they have everything they need for a successful school year. These four days were filled with excitement and the energy of the new year can be felt in the air. Common Hope provided supplies, books, and uniforms to more than 3,500 students!
This year, the staff and older students also helped put on various interactive “skits” for the students and families. Each skit was focused on setting goals for the year ahead. In Antigua, the “actors” held 19 performances in one day!
Scroll to see photos from each of the four School Supply Days!
NEW HOPE
We kicked off our 2019 Back-to-School festivities at New Hope on Sunday, January 13. School Supply Day at New Hope is truly a family and community affair. The large ball court was packed with students and family members. In total, Common Hope distributed supplies to more than 500 students!
Do you sponsor a student at New Hope? We are hosting a special Vision Team just for New Hope Sponsors in May. For more information, contact Avi at 651-287-0716.
ANTIGUA
School Supply Day in Antigua was on Friday, January 18. Antigua hosts the largest “Back-to-School” festival with more than 1,500 students plus their family members. It takes many weeks of planning and help from all of the staff and volunteers to coordinate this massive event. This year, we had help from members of the Travel to Serve Vision Team who enjoyed meeting some of the families Common Hope partners with. Dressed up in caps and gowns, some of the older Youth Group students helped out by performing interactive skits about setting goals. The day was a complete success with more than 92% of the Antigua students coming to pick up their supplies!
SAN RAFAEL
The “Back-to-School” festivities came to San Rafael on Thursday, January 24. The day started bright and early with an amazing group of team members from the First Parish of York Vision Team working alongside Common Hope staff to unload the truck, unpack boxes, and organize supplies. Soon, setup was complete and the festivities began. More than 98% of the school bags were handed out that day! It’s wonderful to see this vibrant community coming together to support education.
SAN MIGUEL MILPAS ALTAS
We wrapped up 2019 School Supply Days on Friday, January 25 in San Miguel Milpas Altas, which is a town near Antigua. This community is very family-focused and each year more and more family members attend School Supply Day with their student. This year, over 97% of Common Hope students and their family members came to School Supply Day. The First Parish of York Vision Team from Maine also lent a hand organizing and distributing school supplies to the students. It was a day full of smiles and heartwarming moments – and a wonderful way to end “Back-to-School” festivities!
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