TUCSON, Ariz. — Back-To-School Brigade is a yearly event put on by national nonprofit Operation Homefront. Visiting Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, it gave backpacks full of school supplies to 250 children of military families. Families like Master Sergeant Scott Hamrick, who's five year old daughter, Nora, will start her first day of kindergarten this year.
"Yea absolutely, it's a financial weight lifted, that's obviously great. And then the convenience factor right here on base, o bring everything to one spot, so it makes it very, very convenient," said Hamrick.
Operation Homefront serves active-duty families, Reserve, National Guard and veterans.
"In that community, they're often moving frequently. Cut off from their support systems. There's a high cost of being transferred. And then even that transition from active-duty service to veteran and back to civilian lifestyle is financially challenging for families," said Sarah Stempien, the area manager for Operation Homefront.
Its mission is to build stable military families in the communities they work to protect. In Arizona, this week alone, Operation Homefront served nearly 1,300 children.
Dollar Tree helps provide the school supplies. When you shop there and agree to donate to military families, it goes to your local military base for events like this.
"We have a national partnership with Dollar Tree so every store in the country is collecting the school supplies for military families," said Stempien.
Every donation helps military children, and their families, get that much more excited for the new school year.
"Beyond excited. Its really exciting for her to pick her own backpack and put the stuff in it that goes in there," said Hamrick.
Donations at Dollar Trees across the nation start July 5 and goes through August 8.
