Our Story
In early spring, 2009, several community leaders began
meeting to organize a community event designed to celebrate the start of
school. The original idea was to
entertain a hundred or so people with Gospel Hip-Hop music. Fortunately, the
people involved had close connections to schools and to the needs of children
from struggling families.
Our idea for a concert rapidly blossomed into plans for an event that would prepare children for the start of school. Beginning in May 2009, the Steering Committee met every week. We identified what the children needed and then divided up into working groups.
Each group was responsible for either obtaining the resources for a category of needs (school supplies, clothes, etc.) or a program area (communication, planning, marketing, etc.) The members of the Steering Committee contacted businesses, donors, and community organizations. With unemployment in the city of Elkhart running at 18%, we didn’t know what to expect.
At first, we were pleasantly surprised by positive responses. Soon, however, we were astounded by the generosity of businesses, individuals, and organizations. As money, supplies, and collaborations grew, so did our sense of the number of children we could help and the scope of the services we could provide.
One significant expansion was the addition of a health fair. We cultivated the cooperation of the Elkhart Minority Health Coalition and Elkhart’s Heart City Health Center (a federally qualified community health center). Heart City not only offered medical personnel to provide health screenings and physicals, they offered cash to offset costs.
Our Steering Committee (all volunteers) grew to include a representative from Elkhart Community Schools, the director of Church Community Services (food bank and social service agency), the director of the Minority Health Coalition, the Latino outreach coordinator from Elkhart General Hospital, and the manager of Fusion Radio (who took responsibility for entertainment and publicity. Elkhart Back-2-School partnered with more than 100 organizations including 25 churches, 10 service clubs, 15 corporations, and 50 not-for-profits.
On the day of the celebration, 230 volunteers helped. The volunteers came from service groups, neighborhood groups, businesses, churches, and schools. Another challenge was to notify the parents of children who most needed help getting ready for school.
Through our partnership with the Elkhart Community School District, we mailed notices to all of the 2,300 Title I families (who qualified for free and reduced lunches). Title I income guidelines are roughly equivalent to 180% of the Federal Poverty Line. As we neared the day of the celebration, we had the sense that the energy and momentum of our project was less like a snowball rolling downhill and more like an avalanche. Generosity blossomed. Gifts multiplied.
On the day of the celebration, families began lining up three hours before starting time. By mid-morning, the line of families eager to participate wound around 4 blocks of the perimeter of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Center. Fortunately, the line moved rapidly. Music and food helped generate good feelings. Churches (The Fellowship Community Outreach) held a healthy soul food cook-off and by the end of the day, we savored the satisfaction of having served 5,500 people.
The success of the 2009 event persuaded us that we should continue our efforts the following year. The board continued to meet, and made preparations for an even larger event in 2010. The Second Back-2-School Unity Festival, in August 2010, drew in more volunteers, more corporate sponsors and more materials for needy families than the previous year. One notable addition in 2010 was our partnership with Samaritan’s Feet, an internationally-known charity which supplies shoes for children in need. Through this partnership, over 1,300 children at our event received brand-new shoes to prepare them for the new school year.
Another addition to Back-2-School in 2010 was the Back-2-School 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. This event was the idea of some local residents, who suggested we hold a basketball tournament in the days running up to the big Unity Festival, as a fund-raiser and awareness-raising event. Several local people stepped up to help organize the tournament, and it provided a great evening of community-building fun for all ages. For a city in northern Indiana, there is nothing like basketball to bring folks together.
Looking to the future, Back-2-School Elkhart continues its singular focus on preparing the children and families of our community for each new school year. As long as there are real financial needs, we hope to be able to help provide the resources needed to motivate every student to be ready to learn.
Our idea for a concert rapidly blossomed into plans for an event that would prepare children for the start of school. Beginning in May 2009, the Steering Committee met every week. We identified what the children needed and then divided up into working groups.
Each group was responsible for either obtaining the resources for a category of needs (school supplies, clothes, etc.) or a program area (communication, planning, marketing, etc.) The members of the Steering Committee contacted businesses, donors, and community organizations. With unemployment in the city of Elkhart running at 18%, we didn’t know what to expect.
At first, we were pleasantly surprised by positive responses. Soon, however, we were astounded by the generosity of businesses, individuals, and organizations. As money, supplies, and collaborations grew, so did our sense of the number of children we could help and the scope of the services we could provide.
One significant expansion was the addition of a health fair. We cultivated the cooperation of the Elkhart Minority Health Coalition and Elkhart’s Heart City Health Center (a federally qualified community health center). Heart City not only offered medical personnel to provide health screenings and physicals, they offered cash to offset costs.
Our Steering Committee (all volunteers) grew to include a representative from Elkhart Community Schools, the director of Church Community Services (food bank and social service agency), the director of the Minority Health Coalition, the Latino outreach coordinator from Elkhart General Hospital, and the manager of Fusion Radio (who took responsibility for entertainment and publicity. Elkhart Back-2-School partnered with more than 100 organizations including 25 churches, 10 service clubs, 15 corporations, and 50 not-for-profits.
On the day of the celebration, 230 volunteers helped. The volunteers came from service groups, neighborhood groups, businesses, churches, and schools. Another challenge was to notify the parents of children who most needed help getting ready for school.
Through our partnership with the Elkhart Community School District, we mailed notices to all of the 2,300 Title I families (who qualified for free and reduced lunches). Title I income guidelines are roughly equivalent to 180% of the Federal Poverty Line. As we neared the day of the celebration, we had the sense that the energy and momentum of our project was less like a snowball rolling downhill and more like an avalanche. Generosity blossomed. Gifts multiplied.
On the day of the celebration, families began lining up three hours before starting time. By mid-morning, the line of families eager to participate wound around 4 blocks of the perimeter of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Center. Fortunately, the line moved rapidly. Music and food helped generate good feelings. Churches (The Fellowship Community Outreach) held a healthy soul food cook-off and by the end of the day, we savored the satisfaction of having served 5,500 people.
The success of the 2009 event persuaded us that we should continue our efforts the following year. The board continued to meet, and made preparations for an even larger event in 2010. The Second Back-2-School Unity Festival, in August 2010, drew in more volunteers, more corporate sponsors and more materials for needy families than the previous year. One notable addition in 2010 was our partnership with Samaritan’s Feet, an internationally-known charity which supplies shoes for children in need. Through this partnership, over 1,300 children at our event received brand-new shoes to prepare them for the new school year.
Another addition to Back-2-School in 2010 was the Back-2-School 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. This event was the idea of some local residents, who suggested we hold a basketball tournament in the days running up to the big Unity Festival, as a fund-raiser and awareness-raising event. Several local people stepped up to help organize the tournament, and it provided a great evening of community-building fun for all ages. For a city in northern Indiana, there is nothing like basketball to bring folks together.
Looking to the future, Back-2-School Elkhart continues its singular focus on preparing the children and families of our community for each new school year. As long as there are real financial needs, we hope to be able to help provide the resources needed to motivate every student to be ready to learn.
