A group of students at Chester E. Jordan Elementary received a generous donation of backpacks and school supplies from Kings BBQ & Southern Kitchen as they boarded their school bus to head home one day earlier this school year.
The local restaurant donated the items for about 40 students who ride bus 121, driven by SISD transportation employee James Brown. On Aug. 28, he set the backpacks and school supplies on the seats to surprise the students when they got on the bus.
“They donated a few things that we may take for granted, but that our kids may need,” Brown said. “So, I just thought it was totally awesome that they were able to do that for our students.”
Brown said the donation developed when he went to eat at the restaurant and noticed racks full of school supplies behind the restaurant's counter. He inquired about it and explained that he was a bus driver for the Socorro Independent School District.
The SISD bus driver said he simply decided to ask about the items since he knows times are hard, especially coming out of the pandemic. Sometimes parents can use the help to offset some of the costs of the resources students need to succeed in the classroom, he said.
Kings BBQ & Southern Kitchen owner and chef Felder Shackleford Jr. said he always tries to have extra school supplies at his establishment as part of his aim to help support children in the El Paso community.
Shackleford and his fiancé are both retired disabled United States Army veterans, who use the restaurant as an avenue to connect with the community. The school supply donation is one of their many initiatives to give back.
“Our goal is to continue to find ways to connect and help the community, especially our youth,” Shackleford said.
Brown was happy to prepare the backpacks full of school supplies the students at Chester E. Jordan Elementary. As the students entered the bus, their faces lit up and they smiled cheek to cheek as they opened their new backpacks filled with notebooks, pencils, crayons and more.
“This is awesome because my students work very hard and it's important for them to have the supplies that they need,” Brown said. “It’s all about the kids.”
Published November 3, 2022
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