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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – Most children will be returning to school this fall whether through traditional or virtual learning, meaning that parents will need to buy a wide range of supplies for the coming year. The Cornell Lewis Foundation is addressing this need with its “5th Annual Back 2 School Rally.”

The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 2, from 3-6p.m. at the Helena Sports Complex. The foundation will be giving away several bags of supplies for families while supplies last.

“I wanted to give back to the community and I thought this was the perfect way, because many students get overlooked and there are many in the community that need to be helped out,” said Cornell Lewis Foundation Founder Aaron Lewis. “There are kids with a genuine need, and it gives the parents a break from having to buy supplies.”

Lewis plans to give out all the basic necessities including paper, pens, pencils, notebooks, color pencils and crayons. He will typically supply a larger range of items, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the way children attend school has been radically changed.

The event will have strict safety measures including temperature checks and required mask wearing inside the building. Instead of letting everyone come up to collect the supplies at once, Lewis said that one family at a time would come and grab a bag for their children to promote social distancing.

Lewis started doing these rallies back in 2015 after graduating as a way to give back to the community. With all the uncertainty and economic anxiety that is currently happening he wanted to make sure he continued helping local families in a difficult time of need.

“Everybody has been living in this unknown time,” Lewis said. “There’s some familiarity through this for them, and I’m trying to keep it as normal as possible.”

For more information about this event or to help support the Cornell Lewis Foundation’s efforts visit

Facebook.com/ACLewFoundation/.