This year, students at one elementary school were able to focus on learning instead of on back-to-school shopping.

More than 90 percent of the students at Orange Ridge Bullock Elementary School in Bradenton are on free and reduced lunches. Many of the families there have a hard time buying their children’s school supplies and uniforms.

“We have a lot of parents that come and tell us they don’t get paid until Friday or two weeks from now,” said Juana Gavia, the parent liaison at the school. “They come and register their children and say they can’t start tomorrow because they don’t have uniforms or school supplies.”

In the past, teachers and staff at the school stepped up to help, but this year, a miracle happened.

“When we saw students in need, we spent our own funds to provide for them,” principal Maribeth Mason said. “This year we have not had to do that.”

Mason said they didn’t have to go shopping for students to get them ready for school, because someone else did it for them.

Thanks to the generosity of several groups in the area, students here were taken care of. This year, the school received a huge amount of donations.

“We were able to buy over 100 uniforms, plus underwear and socks,” said Gail Manuel of the Bradenton Chapter of the Eastern Star, a part of the Masonic family. “Many don’t have those things.”

A nearby church also heard of the school's need and offered their help.

“We decided two years ago to adopt a school in our neighborhood,” said Kevin Clark, pastor at Bethel Baptist Church. “We couldn’t make a difference everywhere, but we thought we could make a difference in our neighborhood.”

Before school started, the church held a “Day of Hope” event. They were able to help hundreds of students by giving them supplies, providing medical and dental exams, a family portrait, haircuts and more.

Other students at the school are also benefiting from this year’s donations.

The school received several pairs of shoes, gifts cards to buy more, backpacks, folders, paper, and even bikes to help get children to and from school.

Toys were also brought in to give to students as incentives when needed.

Barbara Field, president at the Kirby Stewart American Legion Bradenton Auxiliary, said they decided to help because they want children to have what they need to be successful in the classroom.

So far, her group has donated over $2,000 in supplies.

“The children are our future,” said Field. “We have to support them. Otherwise, we’re not going to go anywhere.”

Mason said they received more donations than in the past.

“We still have a storage room filled with materials that people have given us that we can hand out to teachers as school year progresses,” she said.

The following groups donated to the school: Kirby Stewart American Legion Bradenton Auxiliary, Bethel Baptist Church, Charley Sellick of Horace Mann Insurance, Feeding Empty Little Tummies, First United Methodist Church of Palmetto, Bayside Community Church, Jersey Mikes Subs, M & R Audio, Masonic Lodge Bradenton 87, Pack a Sack and students from Braden River High school and Braden River Middle.

Other schools in the district reported seeing an increase in donations as well.