The Fannie B. Bailey Memorial Scholarship Foundation hosted their inaugural backpack giveaway at Dickison Elementary School in Compton on July 27.
In their 37 years of service, the Fannie B. Bailey Memorial Scholarship has raised over $50,000 to provide scholarships to graduating high school students. The foundation hosted a backpack giveaway to provide for elementary school students, according to their social media manager Brande Boone-Anderson,
“We decided to put together a huge event for giving away school supplies,” Boone-Anderson said. “We had 42 families to come out.”
The youth not only received a free backpack and school supplies, but they also enjoyed activities, crafts and entertainment. Several businesses, including BossEGirlz Sweets and Treats, Westmont BBQ Dinners, Vic Lynn’s Snack Shack, artist Tamara Branch, Amiyah’s Awesome Bracelets, and Kenneth Valentine’s Bakery gave away their products during the backpack giveaway.
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One of the activities allowed youth to create their own slime, according to Boone-Anderson.
“You know how creative kids can be and … it was a sensory object, adding glitter, adding the glue, all the little steps to get that and be able to take that home,” Boone-Anderson said. “It created a memory for them.”
The Fannie B. Bailey backpack giveaway also included a raffle where families could win prizes. Wienerschnitzel of Inglewood, Chili’s Restaurants, and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers were sponsors of the event.
The Fannie B. Bailey Memorial Scholarship was created in 1987 by Bernice J. Reever to honor her mother. The foundation president is Denise Boone, the daughter of Reever. Boone-Anderson is the granddaughter of Reever, she hopes to keep the legacy going.
“Everybody in the family is in education in some form,” Boone-Anderson said. “Myself being in education and working on my teacher credential and I actually work in special [education]. It motivates me to really want to be into it.”
While giving back to the community, keeping the faith has kept them thriving, Boone-Anderson notes.
“We are grounded in religion, we have to step out on faith,” she said. “All of this, we just have to step out on faith and see how it comes out. Every year, we’re able to build and make it grow even better.”
For more information about the Fannie B. Bailey Memorial Scholarship, please visit fanniebbailey.org.
