The city of Baldwin will host a Back to School Bash this coming Saturday, July 29. The event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at Life Church, located at 110 Church Street in Baldwin.
Local salons and barbershops will provide free haircuts for school children. There will also be free food, games, and activities.
During the Bash, Baldwin will give away free backpacks and school supplies. Baldwin Elementary School students may pick up their supplies from 4-6 p.m. The city will distribute supplies to all other students between 6-8 p.m. during the event.
The city is still accepting school supply donations. If you would like to help, please contact Baldwin City Hall at 706-778-6341.
Saving money. Motivating kids.
This marks the first time Baldwin has held this type of event on its own: In years past, Baldwin partnered with other cities on similar events.
The city is organizing the Back to School Bash to help local families defray the cost of school supplies, says Baldwin City Councilmember Stephanie Almagno. These large one-time purchases add up, especially when a family has multiple children headed back to the classroom.
“While the financial benefit to families is obvious, my quiet hope is that children will look forward to heading back to school,” she says. “We know that attendance in school is directly linked to academic success. The staff at Baldwin Elementary, led by Dr. Rodney Long, have done a great deal to encourage daily attendance, and I hope that our residents also see us, the city, as a community partner in helping to educate all of our children.”
Monthly events
Baldwin’s Back to School Bash is the latest in a series of communitywide events the city is hosting this year. According to Almagno, they’re trying to hold at least one event monthly. Past events include Public Safety Day, Water Wars, and the recent “Pit”nic, during which Baldwin fed over 450 people for free and offered games and fireworks on July first.
“We are a team committed to addressing the needs in our community,” says Baldwin’s Chief Administrative Officer, Emily Woodmaster.
“All events are open to the public and sponsored by our community partners,
some donations are financial, and some are in-kind,” explains Almagno.
So far, the city has raised $22,000 in cash donations to support its various events. The city pools the money so that organizers can use the leftover money from past events to pay for future events, adds Almagno.
For updated information on Baldwin’s Bash, follow the event on Facebook.
