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METRO DETROIT — Motor City Pawn Brokers employees are getting ready to host one of their favorite events of the year.
Team members will hold their third annual Back-to-School Bash on Aug. 26 at all five of their locations. There are 1,200 backpacks in total — 250 per store — and they will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis.
The event at the Roseville location will begin at 10 a.m. and at 9 a.m. at the Detroit, Hamtramck, Warren and Ferndale locations. All locations close at 5 p.m.
“It’s a great event for the family,” Motor City Pawn Broker President Mark Aubrey said. “It’s just a lot of fun. It makes us feel good.”
That’s because it’s the pawn shop staff members who purchase all the back-to-school supplies on their own. The backpacks will include a variety of school supplies, including notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and rulers.
Along with the school items, several random backpacks will have golden tickets filled with gift cards to restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations and other spots, including Dino Dayze at Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill.
At each Back-to-School Bash, employees will provide free food and beverages. Attendees will have an opportunity to play interactive games to win prizes.
This year, members of the Harper Woods High School varsity football team volunteered their time to organize and stuff the backpacks.
“This kind of kicks off the season for us. We were recipients in the back-to-school drive the last two years,” Coach Rod Oden said. “We thought it would be a great idea to offer our assistance. The Detroit location is less than a mile from our school.”
On Aug. 18, the athletes were scheduled to take inventory of all the school supplies and then fill the items into each backpack.
“We’ll then move them to the Eight Mile location,” Oden said.
The school has both a varsity and junior varsity team. The players have been practicing for the season and just returned from camp.
Oden said the football players are required to perform 100 hours of community service each school year, so they participate in various volunteer activities. He added that many of the students are in the National Honor Society.
“So many people have done so many things for us, and we’re trying to show them it’s better to give than receive,” Oden said.
The Back-to-School Bash is just one of many ways Motor City Pawn Brokers gives back to the community. For the entire month of May, staff members throughout the company sold paper cowboy hat and boot cutouts to raise $2,500 for Camp Casey.
Camp Casey, based in Farmington Hills, is a nonprofit organization that provides horseback riding programs to children who have cancer, rare blood disorders and other life-threatening illnesses.
The money that Motor City Pawn Brokers collected was donated to Camp Casey’s “Horsey House Calls.” Through the program, Camp Casey provides a “horse camp” to the homes of children who are too ill to attend regular summer camp.
Representatives bring a horse to the family’s home for a horse grooming and safety lesson, individual horseback rides, team-building games, arts and crafts, hand-made horse treats, and a pizza party.
Visit camp-casey.org for more information on Camp Casey.
To view the addresses of each of the five Motor City Pawn Brokers locations, visit motorcitypawnbrokers.com.
