SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Baystate Medical Center hosted their annual back-to-school drive in Springfield Friday to support children in Western Mass ahead of their first day.

More 3000 students across eight schools in Springfield will receive several classroom supplies including pencils, notebooks, markers and calculators.

The items, which were requested by the Hampden County Schools, have all been donated by staff members at Baystate.

Community Relations Director Annamarie Golden said the goal of the event is to help alleviate costs  that many parents struggle with.

"I know each year with inflation, costs go up, so we have 13,000 employees and we also have some of our own employees who struggle to do that as well," said Golden. "And we know some of our employees' children are also in these schools as well, so [we're] pleased to be able to support."

Baystate Health wants to remind the community that many children are going to back to school without the proper necessities so any donation to local support groups are helpful.