Over 100 students get free backpacks ahead of the school year in American Indian Community Center, Comcast event

At first, 8-year-old Delaney Moses was hesitant as she peered inside her new black canvas backpack. Unzipping it further, she shoved her whole head into the dark bag to scope out its contents.

A folder, spiral notebook, pencils, erasers, crayons, tissues, hand sanitizer, pencil case, ruler and her favorite, colored pencils.

“She likes to draw,” said Sean Moses, Delaney’s father.

Delaney and more than 100 other kids in Spokane were the recipients of free backpacks full of school supplies as summer break winds to a close. They were distributed Monday by workers at the nonprofit American Indian Community Center and volunteers from Comcast, who donated 200 backpacks and their contents along with three laptops given away to kids.

“It’s a good little bit of loot for them to get ready for school, and it helps them out and takes away the burden from the parents,” said Stephanie Sijohn, special projects manager and executive assistant at the American Indian Community Center in West Central.

It’s the second year Comcast has partnered with the center to distribute school supplies, this year upping the ante with more supplies, more volunteers, backpacks and computers.

“To be able to give kids a good start to their school year and help parents not have to worry about something, take that off their checklist, I think is really important,” said Stephanie Wideman, volunteer coordinator with Comcast. “They have enough to worry about with their kids, health and safety and all that stuff, so if we can make their back to school a little bit easier, that’s what we’re here for.”

As Moses hoisted two backpacks over his shoulders, one for Delaney and another for his preschool-aged son, he said it was a relief to get his kids’ essentials at a convenient stop at the community center he regularly visits.

“It does help out a lot too, because I feel like, with the center, they know what back-to-school supplies she needs,” Moses said. He frequents the center for other resources like addiction recovery support, turning to them for community after moving to Spokane from Snoqualmie three years ago.

“This is our new home, our new community,” he said.

The American Indian Community Center has been open since 1967, the nonprofit acting as a gathering place and offering a host of food services, educational workshops, housing support, and clothing drives for those in need, not just limited to tribal members or those with Indigenous heritage.

The center typically operates through grant funding, Sijohn said, but the partnership with Comcast allowed the organization to distribute backpacks without any red tape or hassle for families.

“It doesn’t have a lot of paperwork tied to it where it could be very intimidating,” Sijohn said. “You want to be able to provide for your kids in that way; I understand it’s a service where you have to swallow your pride and give in to getting something for free, but it helps the kids out in the long run; at least they have something to start with.”

In Delaney’s case, her father joked as she sifted through her haul that the supplies may not last them that long .

“I’m sure once we get home, it’ll be used,” Moses said. “But that’s fine; she’s doing something she loves and enjoys.”

In another opportunity for free services ahead of the school year, the Man Shop is offering free haircuts for students aged 5 to 18 at their locations in Spokane Valley and Post Falls. Haircuts are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis with no advance registration required.

Staff will cut students’ hair for free on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their Spokane Valley location on 4902 E. Sprague Ave. Free haircuts will be offered from the Post Falls location on Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 264 S. Beck Rd.