ARLINGTON — A variety of circumstances brought the families of close to 500 K-12 students from Arlington, Lakewood and Darrington to Presidents Elementary for the sixth annual Back2School Rally Aug. 16.

But one thing they had in common was how hard it would be for them to make do without the day’s giveaways of backpacks and school supplies.

“Without this, I’d be hunting for bargains at thrift stores, or hoping that my kids didn’t tear apart enough of their supplies from the previous year to make it through this year,” said Amanda Woodward, who acknowledged that coping with the aftermath of the Oso slide in her hometown of Darrington has provided her already cash-strapped family with further challenges.

Woodward and her family attended the rally for the second time. With four school-age children, from 11-year-old Nathaniel to 5-year-old Jayden, it’s hard to be a stay-at-home mom relying only on her husband’s income, she said.

For Heather Kal, who just moved to Arlington from Edmonds, this year marked her first Back2School Rally. Kal was a stay-at-home mom who found herself “in completely different economic circumstances” due to her recent divorce. She’d already relied upon “Buy Nothing” groups in Edmonds, and the generosity of schools and fellow parents to provide back-to-school clothes and supplies to her kids before the divorce.

“What would we do without this event? That’s a good question,” said Arlington mom Jennifer Courtney, whose 7-year-old, Zak, is going to Presidents, while her 13-year-old, Ty, heads off to Haller Middle School. “Thankfully, we don’t have to think about that.”

Jennifer and her husband, Bill, have lived in the district for a decade, and have attended the Back2School Rally since it started six years ago. They’ve benefitted from the Arlington Family Resource Center, but even with the economy supposedly on the mend, they’ve found themselves at a loose end.

“We’re still playing the waiting game,” Courtney said. “We’re in a transitional phase. If we didn’t live in a community that helps its own, through things like the Family Resource Center and the Back2School Rally, I just don’t know. There are still plenty of people out there who are stuck in transitional phases, and they’re hurting. Not only are they not going anywhere, but they’re going backwards.”

This year’s rally signed up 456 kids beforehand, but event organizers expected a number of walk-ups who hadn’t made reservations. Last year saw 419 students pre-registered, and another 86 arrive as unscheduled walk-ups.

The Arlington Back2School Rally is supported through donations made to the Arlington Assembly of God and Christ the King churches.