Single Mothers Outreach volunteers and staff gathered at the Savia Community Center on Saturday for their annual Back to School Drive.

Parents and their children began to arrive in the early morning, and eventually created a line out the door, according to a Single Mothers Outreach.

School supplies are not cheap, and in order to help these mothers save money, SMO saw an opportunity to help, according to parents.

Nearly 200 kids received backpacks filled with binders, crayons, pencil boxes and much more, thanks to the help of the Ronald McDonald Foundation, Project Share and Princess Cruises.

Sarah Jones, a single mother, looked on as her kids skipped around in their brand new backpacks, thrilled to begin the new school year.

“Even with a full-time job, you can’t afford everything, so this is a really good help, because [the kids] are excited so go back to school,” she said.

Each child picked out the color of backpack they wanted, and had a huge decision to make a while later between stickers and toy cars.

Members were also given a choice of classes offered by SMO.

“I love being able to get all the school supplies for my son, it’s awesome,” said one mother.

“We are very grateful to our volunteers and donors, especially The Ronald McDonald Foundation for their generous grant,” said Yorleni Sapp, Executive Director. “Everything we do at SMO is dependent on grants and fundraising and we rely on community support.”

SMO sees that there are certain needs within the community, and with the help of generous volunteers and donors, they are able to continue to empower single parents to thrive.

SMO officials hold their Empowering HeArts Gala on Nov. 5, which will recognize outstanding women in the community while also raising money.

For tickets to the gala, please visit the SMO website, here.