CASSOPOLIS — It's not just high gas prices that are pinching families lately. Now, expensive school supplies are straining the budget as well. But this weekend there's a chance for needy families in Cass County to get free back-to-school supplies.

Organizers are calling it the "School Supply Spectacular." They're hoping to give free supplies to 800 students who are in need.

"Basically the need kind of came to us last fall," explained Lewis Cass ISD Great Start Coordinator Pam Swain. "We had several families call in, people were wondering where they could get their school supplies for the school year."

From there, several local agencies and stores collaborated efforts to make it happen.

"It's very important to us that all of our kids start school this year with the most confidence they can. We want them to succeed and have a great new start at school," explained Swain.

Families living in Cass County with students in pre-school through high school can attend the event.

"We've got about 8,000 students in the county," explained Lewis Cass ISD Superintendent John Ostrowski. "So this will be a really helpful event for them. The economy has not been well this year, Michigan has been extremely hard-hit, and we're just excited we can do this for
our kids."

The first annual "School Supply Spectacular" will take place Saturday August 23 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District's Brookside Learning Center at 61682 Dailey Rd. in Cassopolis. Volunteers will also be giving free hair cuts from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.