Back to School FDL Curbside Distribution Plan

Now that Back to School FDL registration has closed, the Back to School team is evaluating and organizing the data and continuing to prepare for Curbside Distribution which will take place at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds – Expo Center on Saturday, August 22.

A big thanks to the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds staff for allowing the Back to School team to utilize the Expo Center facility for drive-through distribution to the over 448 families that registered for this supply give-away. Being able to utilize the Expo Center will allow us to assist families as efficiently as possible in an environment that will not be as affected by inclement weather on Curbside Distribution day.

Due to the high numbers of registrants, the Back to School team is also hopeful that the space at the fairgrounds will help us avoid any traffic snarls. To that end, the Back to School team is requesting that pre-registered families remain in their vehicles and enter the fairgrounds complex at the 17th Street entrance staying in the lane designated by volunteers. It is important that pre-registered families report at the assigned time based on the parent’s last name:

Parent’s Last Name A-F – 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Parent’s Last Name G-L – 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Parent’s Last Name M-R – 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Parent’s Last Name- S-Z – 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Once families have checked in by name at the appropriate station, they will be directed to the Expo Center where they will be greeted by the volunteer team that will assist them. A child will be able to select a backpack from 3 or 4 that are displayed for them. After that decision is made, which we request be a quick one, each child will receive a reusable bag with their school supplies inside. Those school supplies will coincide with the school and grade level that are listed on the registration information for that child.

The COVID crisis continues to affect the hows and whys of many aspects of our lives. It’s believed that the “how” of this curbside distribution still allows Back to School FDL to serve the families of our community taking into account the safety of the participants, the volunteers, and the event coordinators. And it’s evident that the “why” for this event is because as a community we saw an even greater need for assistance this year and decided that we wanted to make a difference in a child’s life.