On Sunday, hundreds of Golden Triangle locals lined up outside the gates of the Columbus Fairgrounds in the sun and heat, patiently waiting for the gates to open.
Kids pulled on their parents’ hands, excitedly pointing to the six inflatable jumpers set up in the field beyond while just inside the gate someone fired up a grill and started to flip hamburgers and hotdogs. Right at noon, a DJ started playing and everyone was invited inside.
Later, those same families left with free backpacks and school supplies. And, Takes a Village, the local nonprofit that organized the event, made sure that every child left fed – hot dogs, hamburgers, juice and chips were given out – and six bounce houses were set up across the fairgrounds for families to enjoy at no cost.
For organizer Ricky J. Harris, Air Force sergeant and founder of Takes a Village, the Back2School Bash is a way for his organization to provide students with a strong start to the school year and give families some free fun – something he said can be hard to come by these days.
“Some communities are living in survival mode because they have to,” Harris said. “They don’t have time or the luxury of saying, ‘Let me go get these backpacks for the kids, let me take them to do something fun.’ Instead it’s, ‘I gotta work. I gotta pay bills. I gotta pay for my lights. I gotta feed these kids. I don’t have time or money for a new bookbag right now.’ But they shouldn’t have to choose.”
Harris founded Takes a Village in honor of his nephew, Antaves “Tav” Petty, who died at age 16 in a November 2017 car accident. Petty was a student at New Hope High School and a star football player, his family said.
“We keep it going to help other people and their kids,” said Carol Harris, Ricky’s mother. “Ricky used to spoil Tav at the beginning of the school year. Since we can’t help our nephew and grandson anymore, we do this.”
The event began six years ago when Harris organized a drive and handed out 100 backpacks at Sim Scott Park. Since then, Harris said his original goal hasn’t changed, just grown. He wants to honor his nephew, he wants parents to feel supported and he hopes the kids know someone has their backs.
Organizers said the number of children showing up has grown as well, and Harris reported more than 500 backpacks were handed out by the end of the day Sunday. He said some of the growth is because of the trust he shares with the community. But a lot of it, he believes, is due to increased need.
“(The school supply drive) is something we always want to do,” Harris said. “The need is clearly there. I’ll be retired from the Air Force in two years, and I hope that I can dedicate myself to (Takes A Village) full-time. We didn’t always have a lot growing up. This project feels very personal to me. I want these families to have one less thing to worry about.”
Upcoming supply drives
Takes a Village isn’t the only organization who has seen an increase in need. Nonprofits, churches and community organizations have been preparing all summer to help ease the cost of preparing for a new school year.
In Lowndes County, the Community Benefit Committee will host a food drive and backpack giveaway July 25 from 9-11 a.m. at The Assembly, 2201 Military Road. A valid Mississippi ID is required.
Golden Triangle Mill Service will host a Back to School Drive on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lowndes County Sportsplex, 1336 N. Frontage Road, Columbus. The company is advertising raffles, free food, drinks, ice cream and snow cones, along with more than 1,000 backpacks to give away.
The 18th annual Kid’s Day in the Park will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Townsend Community Center, 826 15th St. S., Columbus.
Also on Saturday, Kingdom Vision Church presents their Back 2 School Block Party and Fun Day at Sandfield Pavilion, at the corner of 23rd Street South and Bell Avenue. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include free food, bookbags and supplies, inflatables, music and community resources.
Great Decisionz will host a back-to-school drive Sunday at 2 p.m. at 1903 Main St., Columbus.
Superior Tax Services will also host a drive Sunday from 2-6 p.m. at 1906 Military Road.
I Am Mentoring will host Chrome Community Classrooms, a school supply giveaway and community car show, July 25 from 4-8 p.m. at 310 Idlewild Road in Columbus.
In Starkville, school supplies donations are being accepted each Friday and Saturday before July 25 at 868 Hwy. 12, with a giveaway set for 10 a.m. that day.
For Clay County residents, Black Wall Street will host its Back to School Exposition on July 25 from noon to 5 p.m. at the National Guard Armory, 1445 Industrial Access Road in West Point. They will have school supplies, free hair braiding and retwists, haircuts and family-friendly activities.
For Noxubee County residents, Supervisor LaVelle Patterson-Rice will host a countywide Back to School Giveaway on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. at the Noxubee County Courthouse Lawn.
Submit information about school supply drives and other community events to The Dispatch community calendar at [email protected]
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
