Parents and students are counting down the last days of summer, getting ready for the upcoming school year. Volunteers at Line Baptist Church in Banks County are helping.
The church, located at 3847 Hwy 441 Bypass in Alto, will hold its annual Community Back 2 School Bash from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 20.
Natasha McEntire is one of the event organizers. She says the church has collected and filled enough backpacks to assist around 400 students in grades K through 12. The church will also hand out $20 gift cards to families to purchase school snacks or other items at Quality Foods in Cornelia.
Students will get a chance to choose other helpful items at the event.
“We’re going to have a station with hygiene products set up like a store so they can select what they need,” says McEntire.
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Free food, fun, and fellowship
Line Baptist church volunteers will serve free hot dog lunches, and Kona Ice will serve free treats during the community-wide event. Weather permitting, children can enjoy a bounce house and kiddie train ride.
“We usually have it outside,” says McEntire, “but with pending rain, that’s due to change.” If it does rain on Saturday, she says the church will move the event indoors.
Last year, Line Baptist handed out around 400 free backpacks, benefiting over 100 families.
“We’re just a little country church and nobody knows we’re up there on the hill in Alto in Banks County,” says McEntire. “We wanted to reach out and let the community know we’re here, and we just want to share with you God’s love.”
Labor of Love
This annual event is a labor of love for those who organize it. Around three dozen volunteers have worked on it since last year’s Back 2 School Bash.
“It’s a yearlong thing, really, and then it takes just about two to three months to nail it down,” McEntire says, adding that great satisfaction is found in helping students and families.
“We know they’re fed lunch that day. We know they have a good time. We know they’re being prayed for and with and we just show God’s love to them and hope they see Him in us,” she says.
Line Baptist Church’s Community Back 2 School Bash is free and open to the public. For more information or to donate, call Natasha McEntire at 706-968-0647.
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