HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico Police hosted a free back-to-school event Saturday designed to send students into the new school year with everything they need — and a positive memory of their local officers.
The Stuff the Backpack event was held at the Henrico County Training Center, where Henrico County Public Schools students in need of basic school supplies stopped by to stuff a backpack, meet local officers and get a free haircut.
Officer Katelyn Gordon, who organized the event, said the idea came from seeing a church do something similar and recognizing an opportunity for police to give back.
"It's a great opportunity... for the youth to see police officers doing something good for the community," Gordon said. "It always used to break my heart going on a call when kids were afraid of the police in uniform, so I wanted a positive police interaction with the kids."
Each child who attended received a brand new backpack and filled it with supplies.
"They're going to go around the tables and fill their backpacks up with the needed school supplies like notebooks, binders, markers, colored pencils, note cards, highlighters — pretty much any school supply you can think of," Gordon said.
About five barbers were on site offering free haircuts, with roughly 30 students served. Vouchers for haircuts at local salons were also handed out.
Gordon said the message she hoped families took away was simple.
"The police are here to help and we want the kids to succeed," Gordon said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
-
-
Eat It, Virginia! with Scott and RobeyUntold with Catie Beck
-
-
-
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
Facebook 
TikTok 
YouTube
Blue Sky
Instagram
Threads
X