Aiken County Rec Center holds annual school supply giveaway

Matthew Christian, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Aug. 14—Around 200-250 children received school supplies Saturday morning at the second Joe Jackson School Supply Giveaway.

The giveaway was held at the Aiken County Recreation Center located at 917 Jefferson Davis Highway in Graniteville.

Tandra Cooks, Aiken County recreation manager, said the giveaway is held to relieve the stress of going back to school for children and their parents. She said some parents may not be able to afford school supplies for their children so the event is held to make sure the children have what they need to start the school year stress-free.

"They can just show up at school Monday with a fresh brain, ready to go," Cooks said.

She said the giveaway has been going on for more than a decade but the decision was made last year to rename it after Jackson who died Jan. 30, 2021.

"That man would drop whatever he was doing to come help this community anytime we needed him whether it was for the seniors, the kids or something here at the rec center," Cooks said. "So in honor of him, we changed the name to the annual Joe Jackson School Supply Giveaway. This will be the second year since the name was changed but it has been going on for years and years."

Jackson's wife, Kathy, sponsors the giveaway through her business, Kyle's Nail Salon.

She said the decision to name the giveaway in her husband's honor was difficult to describe. She said Joe loved the giveaway and wanted to make sure children had what they needed to go to school.

"There are a lot of kids who stand in need and who don't have or whose parents don't have," Kathy said. "We were married for 15 years, so I've been a part of it. Even before them (the current drive), we were doing it individually on our own."

Other sponsors included the Aiken County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department; the Serenity Charity Club, Stars of the East No. 1, the Horse Creek Masonic District and the Buffalo Soldiers from Augusta.

Pamela Perry, founder of the Serenity Charity Club, said she and other people contributing to the giveaway were formerly members of a youth group where they learned the importance of giving back.

"We had a small school supply giveaway and then it just turned into a larger one," Perry said. "We just decided to come over this way and start doing them mainly because I was raised here and this is where everybody mainly did stuff for me."