Robbinsdale church continues back-to-school party tradition to help families with supplies, haircuts

Back to school will be here before we know it, and families across the U.S. will be digging deeper into their wallets.

A recent report found the cost of school supplies are up more than 7% this year, with tariffs and gas prices partially to blame.

Hundreds of Twin Cities families gathered Sunday for an event aimed at making the back-to-school season a little easier for single mothers and their children.

The event was hosted by the Gathering Community Church in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, bringing families together for an afternoon of free school supplies, haircuts, food and other resources.

Organizers estimate between 800 and 900 children attended. Volunteers handed out 550 backpacks filled with school supplies, while barbers and stylists provided about 100 free haircuts.

For families walking through the doors, the help went beyond the items being handed across the table. Jinnifer Hicks, one of the mothers who attended the event, said raising children as a single parent can mean constantly balancing the needs of a family while trying to make ends meet.

The event was designed to take some of that pressure off, particularly as families prepare for another school year.

One by one, families made their way through the church, moving from tables of school supplies to volunteers offering services and support.

On one side of the table were people giving their time and resources. On the other were families receiving a little help at a time when expenses can quickly add up.

Another mother attending the event said having a community willing to step in can make a difference for parents who often have to handle those responsibilities on their own.

By the end of the event, hundreds of backpacks had found new homes, dozens of children had fresh haircuts and hundreds of families had spent the day surrounded by people there to support them.

For organizers, that was the larger purpose of the event: not only helping single mothers prepare their children for school, but reminding them they don't have to do everything alone.

"It impacts them and then they turn around and they impact others, so it's really pushing kindness forward," said Pastor Tabi Horne.