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Lake Worth Beach bar to hold annual back-to-school supply drive

Event kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. with raffle, silent auction, food truck
Harry's Banana Farm in Lake Worth Beach is hosting a school supply drive at 3 p.m. on July 29, 2023.
Posted at 10:16 PM, Jul 28, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-28 23:36:48-04

LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach County bar is stepping up to help families and teachers prepare for the start of school.

Harry's Banana Farm in Lake Worth Beach is hosting its annual Christmas in July school supply drive.

This is a tradition that's taken place for the last six years, collecting thousands of supplies every year.

Workers at the bar are now starting a nonprofit called "Harry's Helping Hands of Lake Worth" to maximize the bar's philanthropic efforts for local schools.

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Laurie Steele of Harry's Banana Farm explains the need for donations to help families and schools.
Laurie Steele of Harry's Banana Farm explains the need for donations to help families and schools.

"The need is greater every year and especially this year with the rising cost of school supplies," Laurie Steele of Harry's Banana Farm said. "Many families are having a very hard time meeting the needs of students and a lot of times these teachers are pulling money out of their own pocket to buy supplies, so these supplies that we provide them help them in many ways both personally and professionally."

Steele outlined why they created the nonprofit.

"What we found is a lot of organizations didn't really want to give to us because of the fact we are a bar, but now that we are a full-on 501c3 nonprofit, we feel we will be able to extend our reach even further and we are very happy to be doing that," Steele said.

The supply drive kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. with a raffle, silent auction, food truck and jello shots for the adults.

The logo for Harry's Helping Hands was created by local fiberglass artist Dan Meyers, who also created the bar's logo and banana on the roof of the bar.

 Last year the event raised more than $4,500 in cash donations.