'Burst the Bug' event deemed a success
The community helped fill Theresa Wallace's 1968 Volkswagen Bug with school supplies that were handed out to local kids at Saturday's Burst the Bug event. The event is part of the Community Care Project, an organization that Theresa and her husband Jeff created as a way to help people throughout the community.
Mekhi Tillman fills his bag with school supplies at Saturday's Burst the Bug event.
MOSES LAKE - You could say the bug successfully 'burst' for the second year in a row.
With free school supplies available on a first come first serve basis, there was a rush of kids at 9 a.m. sharp, said Theresa Wallace, founder of the Burst the Bug event.
The event went from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Sinkiuse Square, in downtown Moses Lake and is part of the Community Care Project. The goal is to equip students with school supplies at no cost to them. Pastor Theresa and Pastor Jeff Wallace of Covenant Church of Moses Lake have organized the event for two years.
"I didn't just want to have a cool car. I wanted to have a car with purpose," Theresa said. So she decided she would use her Volkswagen Bug to collect school supplies. In the days prior to the event, Theresa, Jeff and other volunteers sat outside the Moses Lake Walmart with the bug, collecting monetary and school supply donations. The school supplies are put into the bug and the goal is to fill it so full, it could burst.
Siblings Mekhi, 9, and Chloe Tillman, 8, of Moses Lake came to get school supplies. Mekhi, who is getting ready for a year at Larson Heights Elementary, said now that he has his supplies, he is getting excited for school to start. "A CIA agent," Mekhi responded when asked what he wants to be when he grows up. His sister, Chloe, aspires to be a ballerina.
Janett Caldwell of Moses Lake, and Covenant Church member, has volunteered at the event both years. "It's awesome," she said. "The kids get so excited." Janett spent the morning distributing markers, rulers and other school supplies to kids passing through the line.
Brothers James, 7, and Joey Robertson, 14, of Moses Lake also came for supplies. Joey is getting ready to start his freshman year at Moses Lake High School. He said he's excited to experience his first year at the high school and will wrestle, play football and soccer. James said he expects to "get good grades and have fun," this year.
A total of 21 community members volunteered their time Saturday morning to help ensure local kids were properly equipped for the upcoming school year. For more information about the Community Care Project, please visit their Facebook page.