Content provided by The Philadelphia Inquirer
Aug. 15 - Standing inside the gym in the Wilson Park Community Center, parent Karen Woods patiently waits among a throng of chatty, laughing students. Hundreds more file in.
The elementary schoolers fidget on the floor, girls with their hair in barrettes and braids, boys in baggy shorts.
The high schoolers hang back at the walls.
Most of the students have traveled to this part of South Philadelphia by school bus from Philadelphia Housing Authority sites -- Bartram Village, Paschall Homes, Richard Allen Homes, Greater Grays Ferry Estates -- to get a critical gift: a backpack filled with school supplies.
According to a National Retail Federation survey, families with school-age children will spend an average of $594.24 on back-to-school purchases this year, about $31 more than last year. And in the coming weeks, parents will swarm discount stores to stretch their dollars as far as possible.
For those like Woods, 40, back-to-school costs -- uniforms, shoes, supplies, SEPTA tokens -- are overwhelming.
"This takes a little grief off my shoulders," she said yesterday, holding her 3-year-old son, Maximus, on her hip. Nearby was her soon-to-be sixth grader, Xavier, wearing a navy T-shirt and jean shorts, his eyes cast toward the floor.
Asked if he was excited about heading back to school, Xavier looked up shyly and shrugged. The book bag is just a reminder that summer freedom will soon end.
The book bags are black with red, orange, blue or gray trim. Inside are a black-and-white composition book, a few sharpened pencils, a glue stick, a box of crayons, and a fat eraser.
Bags for junior high students also include a calculator and a protractor.
There is also a list of online educational programs for students with a computer and, on the flip side, information about network centers for those without.
Most of the students participate in the PHA's summer food program, which offers free breakfast and lunch. The backpack offer is a partnership between the authority and the Apartment Association of Greater Philadelphia.
On cue, the students rush the tables, some eagerly peeking inside their new book bags.
"This is a big help, a great help," says Nybee Ali, 42, as his twin boys stand in line. "This gift helps a lot."