Help out Back 2 School Blast
The 2024 Back 2 School Blast is Aug. 3 at Marble Falls Middle School, 1511 Pony Drive. File photo
Volunteers and donations are needed for the Back to School Blast, which is Saturday, Aug. 3, at Marble Falls Middle School, 1511 Pony Drive.
The annual event provides students from all local school districts with free supplies, backpacks, shoes, and other essentials for a successful academic year.
“We saw this need in our town and community,” event Treasurer Greg Neill told KBEY 103.9 FM in a recent on-air interview. “School supplies are expensive. We don’t want kids going to school without being supplied.”
Top requests ahead of the Aug. 3 event include monetary donations, sponsorships, and volunteers.
“I challenge you to come and be part of it,” event board member Jon Weems told KBEY. “Of course we need money, but we need people more.”
Volunteers can help in a variety of ways, Weems said.
“We need people for stations everywhere,” he said. “In addition to that, we need what we call ‘hosts’ who walk along with the families that need extra help.”
Organizers recently streamlined the volunteer schedule to make it easier for people to help.
“We’ve changed the way we do it based on how we order,” Weems said. “Now, we don’t (need volunteers) for the whole week; we just need them for half a week.”
The 2024 event backdrops years of work to expand the Blast to include more community partners.
“It started with a few (churches), and now there’s 20-plus churches involved and different community organizations,” Neill said.
Support for the Back to School Blast underscores the generous spirit of the Highland Lakes, he continued.
“We really are a community that comes together when there’s a need,” he said. “We’re just grateful.”
Visit the Back to School Blast website for more information.