Houston County families prepare for school year at back to school bash

Community partners come together to provide backpacks, health screenings, and resources for students across multiple locations

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Houston County families gathered across multiple locations for the Houston County Family Connection Back to School Bash, all with one goal in mind, helping students get ready for the classroom.

The annual event provided a wide range of resources for families, including backpacks, school supplies, haircuts, clothing and health screenings.

Organizers say the event continues to meet a growing need in the community as more families rely on the support each year.

“This is our 17th annual Back to School Bash,” said Valkyrie Anderson, executive director of Houston County Family Connection. “We partner with three schools in the Houston County School District. We have our in-person event at C.B. Watson, two drive-thrus at Perry High School and Thomson Middle School. And this year we are giving out 2,000 backpacks at those combined three sites.”

Community partners played a major role in making the event possible. The City of Warner Robins helped with registration, assisting families as they arrived.

“We have seen so many incredible families coming through grateful for these necessary resources as we begin a new school year,” said Kate Hogan with the City of Warner Robins.

Other organizations were also on site to connect families with additional services. Optimum Healing Pathways provided information on mental health resources and support.

“I’m all about community, I’m all about giving back,” said Keaira Salomon, CEO of Optimum Healing Pathways. “And there’s a lot of things that we offer that people really don’t know about and that they need. So even just being here today we’ve had so many people like, ‘Oh my goodness where have you been?’ Especially when it comes down to our teen boys and girls groups.”

Organizers say the event would not be possible without the help of volunteers and sponsors who continue to support the effort year after year.

“We’ve had some amazing volunteers, some amazing sponsors, so we do appreciate everybody that has been supporting this event and we hope that we get even more next year,” said Stephanie Robinson, health education supervisor with the Houston County Health Department and co-chair of Family Connection.