Barnabas Connection is celebrating their 16th annual Back to School Fiesta as well as bringing back their second Back to School Celebration this Saturday.
The Back to School Fiesta is an event that provides backpacks, school supplies and other services to children in the Wimberley Independent School District.
“Back to School Fiesta provides school supplies to kids in need in Wimberley ISD,” Kate Sowell, the executive director of Barnabas Connection said. “We get the individual lists from the schools in Wimberley ISD, and we fulfill everything needed in every grade. All the supplies and backpacks are brand new… This allows these students to start the brand new school year on the same footing as their piers” This year, Back to School Fiesta is supplying nearly 500 students with new backpacks and school supplies while also having other services to help those students who need it.
For Sowell, it is important to have a resource like this in Wimberley to help students and families who have either fallen on hard times or are struggling to make ends meet.
“Starting the school year out with the resources you need is incredibly important,” Sowell. “What our donors and volunteers are doing is giving them (students) access to start the school year at the same pace. No matter why they come here, what their backgrounds, or what they are going through in life, every kid is starting out with the same supplies and the same starting point regardless of what is happening in their lives at that moment.”
Coming back this year is the Back-to-School Celebration following the Fiesta.
With 36 booths, the celebration not only allows families to celebrate but also allows them access to different nonprofit organizations as well.
“Last year we wanted to celebrate kids going back to school together,” Sowell said. “We also wanted to provide an opportunity to give back to the community in addition to the school supplies… What this event does is provide a half carnival-type space and a half resource space, so it provides an opportunity to the nonprofits that help families come and set up while providing these families access to them… It also allows these families to get together from all parts of life, backgrounds and all to unify this community.”
The Back to School Fiesta starts at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and runs through 10:30 a.m. at the Barnabas Connection office with the Back to School Celebration starting at 11 a.m. at the Cypress Creek Church.
