For the Kids Benefit Foundation hands out school supplies at Sherman Salvation Army center

For the Kids Benefit Foundation gave school supplies to families Saturday at The Salvation Army Christmas & Disaster Services Center in Sherman, an event the foundation's public listing bills as its fifth annual school supply giveaway. The Aug. 1 distribution came less than two weeks before Gainesville ISD students return to class on Aug. 12, the start date the Cooke County district posts on its 2026 back-to-school page.

Money for the supplies came from a drive the foundation ran earlier in the year. On its back-to-school drive page, For the Kids said the money raised would buy school supplies for local students, and that the supplies would go out in late July or early August.

KTEN, in a post of its own, identified its report as coming from Sherman and described families outside the Salvation Army for a school-supply pickup. That account of families waiting outside the building is the station's. No other primary source reviewed for this report confirms it independently.

The Salvation Army's official page for its Sherman corps lists the Grayson County location at 5700 Texoma Parkway. The foundation's event listing named the Christmas & Disaster Services Center as the giveaway site.

For the Kids traces its work in the area to a Toy Run that began 32 years ago, according to the organization's website, which says the effort became the year-round For the Kids Benefit Foundation in 2021.

Saturday brought a second supply event in Sherman. Sherman ISD had scheduled its Back to School Bash for the same day at Sherman High School, offering free backpacks and school supplies along with haircuts and information on community resources, the district said. Its school-supply page also says donated supplies remain available to students and families in need through Communities in Schools coordinators based at district campuses. Sherman ISD puts the share of its students who are economically disadvantaged at roughly 64%.

Cooke County families face a different setup. Gainesville ISD asks parents to bring their children's supplies to Meet the Teacher. The district provides supplies for students enrolled in Head Start, and it says what high school students need depends on the courses they take rather than a single campus list.

In Denison, the district's supply page carries 2026-2027 lists for elementary, intermediate and middle school campuses rather than advertising a districtwide free-supply event there. Denison ISD's Head Start program admits children based on income eligibility and provides school supplies for those enrolled.

Public records reviewed for this report did not give a count of families served at the For the Kids giveaway, a quantity of supplies handed out, or a dollar value for the distribution.