About 25 Gloucester students will have new clothes, school supplies and a renewed sense of confidence thanks to the Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA’s “Bright Beginnings” program. The students gathered inside the Gloucester Walmart Friday morning, each paired with at least one adult volunteer from either the YMCA or Bayport Credit Union to set off on their shopping adventure.

According to YMCA spokesperson Sheila Pillath, thanks to grants and donations, each child had $125 to spend in the store on Friday. At the end of the shopping trip, they were each presented with backpacks filled with $25 worth of school supplies.

Pillath said YMCA staff went through the school system to help identify the children who needed the supplies the most. They also worked with the Gloucester Department of Social Services to help seek out children in need. 

She said the program began when a YMCA volunteer, Mary Theobald, first contacted a YMCA staff member with a simple and thoughtf...