Reach One Teach One holds back to school bash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The cost of school supplies has spiked about 24% in the last two years. 

To help ease rising costs, Reach One Teach One UCA (ROTO) hosted a school supply drive for children in underserved communities.

“The mission and the vision behind it is us coming together as a community to give the complete family the necessary resources to be successful for the first start of school. To give them the knowledge of what’s all in the community to help with certain situations they have,” Executive director Reginald Yearby said.

ROTO is an early intervention program for children ages 5 to 14.

The 6th annual ‘Back to School Bash’ for ROTO offered students and families with resources as they return to school.

“They say the cost of sending a kid to school this year is anywhere from $600 to $1000. That’s with school supplies, school shoes, school clothes, and all the necessary things to get them ready for school. So if we can just help stand in that gap and take some of that pressure off the parents, that’s our mission and that’s what makes us strive as an organization,” Yearby said.

They are asking for donations of backpacks, school supplies, and any other monetary funds.

School supplies can be dropped off at Calvary Church of the Nazarene, located at 4400 Bonny Oaks Dr.