Whoops and cheers filled the auditorium of Walter Douglas Elementary School on Saturday morning as 31 students were presented with brand-new bicycles, the culminating event of their Christmas in July.
A few hours before, 31 students met at the school and took a bus to Walmart with sponsors who helped them shop for new clothes. After returning to the auditorium, they were greeted by dozens of volunteers and large tables filled with school supplies that they eagerly stuffed into new backpacks.
The event was organized by Dietmar and Elizabeth Gann, who have previously put together six other events, but always before the holidays.
“This is the first time we’ve done this in the summer, but it seems to be the right thing,” Dietmar told the crowd of students, sponsors and volunteers.
The Ganns’ events have all taken place at different schools, and they try to select those that need the most help.
“Our overall sense was these kids really need supplies and the school does, too,” Dietmar said, adding his dismay that teachers often have to buy supplies for their classrooms.
Walter Douglas, at 3302 N. Flowing Wells Road, is located in the 85705 ZIP code, which Principal Tamára McAllister said has one of the highest poverty rates in the city.
“Some of our kids worry that they won’t have what they need to go back to school or their parents won’t be able to afford it,” McAllister said. “What we have here today is a group of really kind-hearted people who want to give back to schools.”
A good portion of the sponsors and volunteers — many of whom were employees, friends and relatives of the Ganns — drove in from Sahuarita for the event, bringing their own children with them to help.
The event also had several corporate sponsors, including Janco Janitorial, which donated all the backpacks, and Gentle Dental, which collected school supplies from patients to donate to the event.
After the students ate lunch in the auditorium, Gann raffled off two sets of laptops, printers and ink cartridges that the SouthEastern Arizona Community Action Program donated to the event, with the winning children smiling brightly as they struggled to carry the large boxes back to their tables.
“I was one of these kids,” Elizabeth Gann said when asked why she started organizing these events. “I bought all my clothes at the secondhand store, even my reading glasses.”
As a child growing up on Tucson’s south side, Elizabeth Gann said she experienced an event similar to the ones she now hosts, and years later decided it was time to give back.
Although many of the events have been held at schools on the south side, after talking to McAllister and the teachers, the Ganns said they knew Walter Douglas was the right place for this year’s event.
“People don’t think there’s poverty north of Broadway,” Elizabeth Gann said. “But you can see it as you drive through the neighborhoods.”
The bicycles, donated by three families from Safford and Tucson, were hidden behind the curtains on the stage while students ate and picked out supplies, with volunteers smiling knowingly at each other as the unveiling drew closer.
“What’s the rule?” Elizabeth asked the elated students, after they quieted down following the bicycle reveal. “When you grow up, you’ll do this for other kids.”
