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​MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana hosted its annual school supply giveaway Saturday.

“It’s a great honor to give these supplies away. We could not do it without our partners in the community,” executive director Leann Bond says.
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Around 150 backpacks filled with school supplies were handed out for kids ranging from pre-K to high school.
Bond says it’s one more way the coalition is meeting the needs of the children in the area. “There is a great need. There is a great need for school supplies. There’s a great need for so much more, and that’s what we do here at the Children’s Coalition. We meet those needs. We fill those gaps, but again, we can’t do that without community help.”

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Children’s Coalition of Northeast Louisiana is hosting a drive-through school supply giveaway in Monroe on Aug. 15.

The giveaway starts at 9:30 a.m. and will run until supplies are gone. Backpacks full of school supplies and masks for children will be distributed to students in Pre-K through high school. There will be 150 backpacks given out in total.

This giveaway was made possible by donations from Delta Beta Sigma, the coalition itself, and other community members.
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“It’s truly a community effort to collect the supplies and we’re just honored to pass them out to the children and families that need them. Regardless if they’ll be attending classes in person or virtually,” said Development Director Sarah Floyd.

The News Star - The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana will hold a free school supply giveaway Saturday.

The event will start at 9:30 a.m. at 117 Hall St., Monroe. Supplies will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Children must be present to receive a backpack which includes a cloth child-sized face mask.

The supplies will range in age groups from Pre-K to high school and will be distributed until gone. 
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Supplies were donated by Delta Beta Sigma, backpacks by Stacey Smith and masks by Kelsey Mardis.

On Saturday, June 20th, we handed out "Cool as Cucumber" packs to families! The packs included a coloring sheet, cucumber seedlings, planting instructions, quick + easy pickle recipe, and a LSUAg Harvest of the Month poster. We hope everyone enjoys planting their cucumbers!

Origin Bank is now the sponsor of the Origin Bank Family Garden at the Children’s Coalition.

The garden, opened in 2018, is located in Downtown Monroe at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana headquarters at 117 Hall Street. This space is a 32 raised-bed family garden and outdoor learning center to promote healthy eating, positive family interactions and garden-based learning and play.

The garden and outdoor learning center support Children’s Coalition programs and the community by growing fresh food for Early Head Start centers, training early childhood educators in garden-based learning and providing a space for families to grow, play and learn together.

​Traditionally the gates to the garden would open to the public and volunteers every third Saturday of the month for Super Saturday. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the staff of the Children’s Coalition have decided to proceed with a drive-through version on May 16. Parents and families received a gardening pack that included everything needed to begin an at-home garden.

Saturday was supposed to be our monthly Super Saturday celebration where friends and families gather for fun activities in our parking lot and family garden. Although we could not celebrate together, our team made it possible for families to garden together at home by including parenting tips to support your child through this pandemic and kits to grow zinnias together.

Evan & his mom, Heather, enjoyed our Drive-Thru Super Saturday! He was excited to plant his zinnia seeds, and learn about the parts of a plant. 

Origin Bank is now the proud sponsor of the Origin Bank Family Garden at the Children’s Coalition. The garden, opened in 2018, is located in Downtown Monroe at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana headquarters at 117 Hall Street. This space is a 32 raised-bed family garden and outdoor learning center to promote healthy eating, positive family interactions and garden-based learning and play. The garden and outdoor learning center support Children’s Coalition programs and the community by growing fresh food for Early Head Start centers, training early childhood educators in garden-based learning and providing a space for families to grow, play and learn together. 


Traditionally the gates to the garden would open to the public and volunteers every third Saturday of the month for Super Saturday. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the staff of the Children’s Coalition have decided to proceed with a drive-through version on Saturday, May 16th. Beginning at 9:30am, parents and families can drive up to receive a gardening pack which includes everything needed to begin an at-home garden with their children as well as tips and resources for adults. Plans for future Super Saturday events will continue as public health guidelines are issued. 


Leann Bond, Executive Director of the Children’s Coalition says, “We are excited to have Origin Bank join us as a title sponsor of our family garden! With their support along with support from others in our community, we are able to continue providing this fun hands-on program promoting healthy activities and nutritious eating habits for families.” 


Origin Bank is proud to support the Children’s Coalition and the community as a whole. They allow employees to contribute to causes they’re passionate about. Each year, they grant every Origin Bank team member “Project Enrich” hours that they can spend volunteering with an organization of their choice. Project Enrich is just one way that Origin Bank gives back to its employees and its communities. Since the program launched in 2013, Origin Bank employees have logged more than 10,000 Project Enrich hours volunteering in our communities. 


“One of Origin Bank’s core values is corporate and individual commitment to our communities,” said Billy Haddad, Ouachita Parish Market Leader of Origin Bank. “The Children’s Coalition is an organization that is doing so much for so many within our community and we are proud to partner with them to continue to make an impact in the lives of the people of Ouachita Parish.” 


This partnership will allow the Origin Bank Family Garden at the Children’s Coalition to grow and meet the needs of children and families. Additional garden beds have been built at key locations such as the Salvation Army as well as 22 child care centers to expand the principles of healthy living in Northeast Louisiana. 
To learn more about the garden or about Super Saturday, visit www.childrenscoalition.org 
To learn more about Origin Bank, visit www.origin.bank 



About the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana 
The Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1998 with the mission to create “communities where children and families thrive." The Coalition currently serves children and families in 14 parishes with services addressing the developmental, social, and emotional needs of children ages 0-18 through early care and education, health care, parenting education, and youth development. 


About Origin Bank 
Origin Bank, formerly Community Trust Bank, is a Louisiana-chartered bank serving Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. For over 100 years, we have provided a wide range of traditional banking services and are combining our industry expertise with modern applications to make banking easy both online and off. Member FDIC.

Our Family Garden is almost entirely volunteer led, and while we are NOT asking for any additional in person volunteers at this time, we wanted to spotlight our amazing team that regularly works to keep our garden growing! 
Typically we volunteer together during Super Saturday such as planting, but our work must continue. We have decided to cancel Super Saturday during April and May, and hope to return in June. 
Tomatoes, watermelons, zucchini, green beans and squash went into the garden beds and when they are ready to harvest, we hope to have returned with our Early Head Start students. If not, the produce will be donated to those in most need. 
Many thanks to LSU AgCenter Ouachita Parish, Kerry Heafer, Ralph and Jan Webb for volunteering their time to help support this project. This effort is led by nutritionist, Cindy George.