Pequea Valley School District and the Factory Ministries have once again partnered up to ensure that kids in the area have everything they need ahead of the new school year.

The two entities will hold their annual Back to School Supply Shop on Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside the gym at the Factory, 3293 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise.

The program offers backpacks, notebooks, pencils, folders and a vast array of other supplies to students in need. Families must sign up for a shopping slot in advance; there will be five slots every 15 minutes within the allotted window.

"This is our fifth year running the program," said Lisa Eckert, director of early learning at Pequea Valley. "In previous years, we would just collect backpacks and kind of hand them out to families who needed extra supplies. We decided to start doing it this way just to let our students pick out the things that they like and have more of a choice in what they want."

The sign-up link for the program can be found on the "PV Building Braves" Facebook page. Anybody with questions should contact Lisa Eckert at lisa_eckert@pequeavalley.org or 717-314-2517 or Liana Rogers at liana@thefactoryministries.com or 717-847-9822.

In the initial year of the program, it was offered concurrently with the summer Lunch and Learn program, which is held every Wednesday at Paradise Park for the majority of the summer. The switch to being a stand-alone program was done partially to ensure that it was available to everyone in the community.

"It just got bigger and bigger," Eckert said. "We wanted to make sure it was offered to anybody in the community versus just the families that were used to coming to the Lunch and Learns."

Aside from the typical school supplies, brushes, combs, body wash, toothbrushes, deodorant and other hygiene supplies will be offered at the event. Certain items will only be available for students of a certain age, ensuring that every student gets what they need.

"We always have enough backpacks for everybody to take one if they want one," Eckert said. "Then they just go and pick out what they would like."

The items have primarily been donated by local churches. Anybody in the community is welcome to the event, not necessarily just those within Pequea Valley School District or those who attend the public school.

Donations are still being accepted at the Factory for the program. Even if they are not used for this specific event, Eckert noted that families always come looking for supplies throughout the year. Many "extra" supplies are used for the ministry's Christmas event. Volunteers are also needed to operate the event.

"Anything we have left over, we'll make sure we give out to families," she said.

The Factory and the school district collaborate for many programs throughout the year, including the aforementioned Lunch and Learn effort.

"I think having those opportunities is really helpful for the school," Eckert said. "We want our kiddos reading; we want them doing enrichment activities over the summer. That way, we don't get as much of that summer lag or going backwards when we're starting off the school year."

The Factory Ministries holds programming with the goal of addressing poverty and empowering those who are affected by it in eastern Lancaster County and the surrounding areas. For more information, visit http://www.thefactoryministries.com.