Cook Children's Donates 1,000 Backpacks for Sherman ISD's Back to School Bash

Sherman ISD will give away 1,000 free backpacks and school supplies at its Back to School Bash on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sherman High School, and the district says all of the bags and supplies come from Cook Children's through a new partnership. The district announced the event in a post in its online newsroom and says the backpacks and school supplies will be given out only while they last.

Sherman ISD has announced free haircuts for the event as well. The district says families who attend can connect with community resources and find other support for the coming school year. Everything offered at the bash, according to the announcement, is free.

Sherman ISD credits Cook Children's with donating every backpack along with the supplies that accompany them. The district says the donation comes through a partnership the two organizations have newly formed.

The bash falls 10 days before the first day of classes. According to Sherman ISD's back-to-school page, the 2026-27 school year begins Tuesday, Aug. 11. The district posts its other start-of-year information for families on the same page.

On that page, Sherman ISD says breakfast and lunch will be free for all students through the Community Eligibility Provision. The district is also asking families to complete its socioeconomic survey, and it says it makes that request because the responses affect the amount of federal and state funding its schools receive.

The district says the need for donated supplies runs past the event itself. On a separate school-supplies page, which sits in the back-to-school section of the district's website, Sherman ISD reports that about 64% of its students are economically disadvantaged. The district cites that figure as the reason donated school supplies remain a need after the bash ends.

Cooke County families can find a similar giveaway promoted closer to home. Gainesville ISD's news and announcements page has advertised a back-to-school wellness event that includes a school-supply giveaway, and that district also says its supplies are available while they last. The Gainesville event is separate from the Sherman bash.

Details on the Sherman event, including the hours and the Sherman High School location, are posted in Sherman ISD's online newsroom. Gainesville ISD shares information about its own event on the district's website.