MARYSVILLE — The playgrounds of Allen Creek and Cascade elementary schools were bustling with activity under the summer sun, as Marysville School District students-to-be picked up much-needed supplied at the return of the annual Summer Jubilee on Aug. 20.

“Last year, we gave away about 5,000 school supply kits at Totem Middle School, 3,000 at Cascade and 1,000 at Shoultes Elementary,” said Vickie Evensen, assistant to the pastor of the Marysville United Methodist Church, one of the local churches sponsoring the Summer Jubilee. “We actually ran out of them at Totem and had to grab more from Shoultes.”

Wayne Clinton, one of the volunteer coordinators of the event at Cascade, estimated that this year’s Summer Jubilee had approximately 3,800 school supply kits ready to hand out between both sites, of which he figured roughly 1,100 were dispensed from Cascade.

“We got a call from Allen Creek saying they were running short on middle school supplies and might need to pick up some of ours, but nobody from that site ever showed up to take them,” Clinton said. “It’s a good thing too, since we gave away almost everything we had here.”

For Jennifer Shaw, the Summer Jubilee meant a savings of at least $100 in school supplies for her four children, who are entering grades ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade this year. Noelle Hayes only needed to shop for her niece, Alexis Binckley, but she appreciated the free kit of pencils, paper, crayons, markers and glue all the same.

“The kids are kind of excited for school to start in the fall,” said Shaw, a second-year Summer Jubilee attendee, before laughing, “Mommy’s really excited for it.”

“This is our first one, since she’s just starting preschool,” Hayes said, as Alexis sorted through her supplies. “She got all sorts of really good treasures. She can’t wait for school.”

At Allen Creek, the “Kloz 4 Kids” program of the Marysville United Methodist Church had already made 15 appointments, within the Summer Jubilee’s first hour, with families for their children to pick up school clothes. At both sites, attendees were able to grab free hot dogs and soda to go with their free school supplies, while the churches who sponsored the event conducted carnival games and provided information on their programs.

Clinton credited Walgreens, Pepsi, Fred Meyer and the Marysville Servpro with helping make this event possible.

“I saw so many people who really needed these supplies,” Clinton said. “I’m glad we could make that happen.”

“A lot of parents would be spending more than they could without this,” said Maria Angel, who visited Shoultes with her two children to pick up kits. “I’d probably be spending $15 or $20 for each of my kids. My son’s going into preschool and my daughter’s going into second grade. Even though the economy isn’t good, these people still believe in helping our kids get a good education.”