Annual Back 2 School Bash deemed a success

Houston County Family Connections and The Perry Housing Authority partnered together to hold the 2020 Back 2 School Bash on July 17. Starting at 9 a.m. at CB Watson Primary School and Perry High School, students were able to pull through to receive a backpack filled with school supplies and receive a meal from the Houston County Board of Education’s nutrition staff.

Toya Harris, Executive Director with the Perry Housing Authority, said that having two locations that having two locations ensured that no one was missing the opportunity to receive a bookbag. In years past, Harris explained, the event was held solely in Warner Robins, but that for the last three, there has been an event held in Perry as well so that residents of the city did not have to travel to Warner Robins. Harris also noted that in the past, the Perry event had been held in the Perry High School gym, but in response to COVID-19, this year’s event was in a drive-thru format. This format was also employed at CB Watson Elementary.

Executive Director with Houston County Community Connections, Tian Foss, informed that there were backpacks available for elementary school students, and for middle and high school students. She listed items within them as filler paper, crayons, colored pencils, and folders for elementary schoolers, and binders, dividers, pens and highlighters for middle and high schoolers.

Foss shared that there were 2,300 backpacks in total, with 1,800 of them to be given away in Warner Robins, and 500 to be handed out in Perry. Foss expressed the event would not be possible without the help of volunteers, and the event was a collaborative effort. Foss mentioned that there were probably 50 agencies and sponsors that made the event happen, such as Georgia Military College, Robins Financial Credit Union and the City of Warner Robins. Harris earlier thanked Fenika Miller with New Vison MSK for her involvement with the project as well. After the event, leftover backpacks, Harris and Foss said, are donated back to the school system.

“We donate them back to the school system because we know that there are families that can’t get here, we know that happens…,” Foss said and further explained that those families in need of a backpack could reach out to school counselors, who will get in touch with school social worker,s who will make sure that a backpack is received.

“The result I would like to see from this is that a child doesn’t have to go to school without a bookbag,” Harris expressed.

Monday, Foss informed the Houston Home Journal that they had given all but roughly 150 of the bookbags away.

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