Volunteers and partners will distribute more than 700 backpacks with school supplies to elementary students in grades kindergarten through five.
Thanks to a $10,000 donation from Hayneedle Walmart, the Community Building Institute Middletown Inc. is able to make the event bigger and better than ever, according to organizers.
The day will also include more than 20 agencies providing information and resources as well as activities for children such as bounce houses, face painting and balloons, music and entertainment, a petting zoo, relay races and more. There will be free hot dogs, drinks, and ice cream.
Students will also be able to meet Middleton City Schools Superintendent Marlon Styles Jr. and other teachers and staff from the school district.
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“With our community partners we are able to present this festival and with a generous donation from Hayneedle we are able to take the event to another level,” sais Verlena Stewart, director of CBI programs.
The City of Middletown, Quest Church, Solid Rock Church, Sodexo Food Services, the Phoenix Group, Preston-Charles Funeral Home and have provided resources including backpacks, food and volunteers to help with the event.
“It is truly a collaboration and labor of love that brings this together,” Stewart said.
“CBI’s mission is to be a creating and sustaining force for revitalization in Middletown — one student, one family, one neighborhood at a time,” said Karin Maney, CBI’s executive director. “This event is one way in which we serve the residents of Middletown by filling a need for families and helping to prepare students for success in the upcoming school year.”
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