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<p><strong>From staff reports&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>Penn Center is hosting a Welcome Back to School Family/Community Event from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15 at the entrance to Penn Center. The event will offer a giveaway of school supplies and uniforms for students attending St. Helena, Lady’s Island and Coosa elementary schools.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>“In the area and schools Penn Center’s Welcome Back to School event is serving, many of the families cannot afford the cost for buying the mandated and necessary school supplies,” Director of Education for Penn Center Tonya Jenkins Allen said in a release. “It is an honor and part of Penn Center’s mission to give back to the community by way of presenting this event.”&nbsp;</p>
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<p>“When we focus on the cost for school supplies and uniforms for students, the concept of free education for all students falls by the wayside,” Penn Center Administrator Charlene Spearen said. “For it is clearly is evident that providing education for our children is not free.”&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The event will also feature resource speakers and grab-and-go meals.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Donations to this initiative are still being accepted, and drop-offs of either school supplies or uniforms take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays through Aug. 12. The location for drop-offs is the S.C. Coastal Community Development Corporation Building (SCDC), 10 DeGullah Way (Behind Gullah Grub Restaurant), St. Helena Island.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>For more information, contact Spearen at 843-838-2432; Jenkins at 843-812-5519; Barbara Gardner Hunter at 347- 497-9326; or Sara Reynolds Green at 843-473-0477. <br><br></p>
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<p><strong>WANT TO GO?&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p><strong>What: </strong>Penn Center’s Back to School Giveaway: Family Community Initiative&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>When: </strong>4 to 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 15&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Where: </strong>Penn Center, Inc., 16 Penn Circle West, St. Helena Island&nbsp;</p>
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