Buying school supplies for your children can be a stressful time for families in southeast Iowa.

The United Church of Faith in Keota has been helping ease this burden for low-income families for over 25 years with their school supply mission. Vicki Fagen of United Church of Faith says this is a community-wide project, with people giving monetary donations and school supplies for Keota School District families, with assistance from the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Keota. Fagen comments on this year’s drive, “It’s going very well, our community is always very generous and supportive of our mission projects, and we’re very fortunate that we have a very giving community.”

Letters were sent to district families informing them of the school supply project, and this Saturday families can stop by the United Church of Faith to pick up supplies, “They come in and we have their list, you know, the school list. Everything’s laid out on tables and we have lots of volunteers that help the families find what they need. The child can pick out a backpack and then go on through the line and get what they need on the list.”

The school supplies will be distributed from 9-10 a.m. Saturday. Children who attend will also be registered for the church’s Christmas missions project. Donations for the “Back to School” project are always accepted at the United Church of Faith and monetary donations can be left with office manager Cindy Messenger.