Third Annual Back To School Fair Draws Thousands
Kenny Dixon, 12, who started sixth grade at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown on Monday, waited in line to visit the Nat Mobile and get a Washington National’s shirt and game schedule.
“This is awesome,” Kenny said of the fair. “I really like it, they had ice cream and I played a clarinet and my [car] trunk is full of school supplies: binders and notebooks.”
Five thousand backpacks filled with school supplies were distributed during the day, said school system spokesman Dana Tofig.
The backpacks and supplies were collected throughout the summer at shopping malls, Whole Foods stores and Wal-Mart. Donations were made by community members, civic organizations and businesses, said Eric Davis, director of the Department of Family and Community Partnerships, which organized the fair.
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“The community really came together to do this, they came together to support student success.”
Backpacks were prepared by Davis’ staff and volunteers. They were divided by grade level and contained age-appropriate supplies, Davis said.
“Parents were coming out of the auditorium in tears thanking us so much because their children would be able to start the school year with a backpack and supplies. With the economy the way it is many families did not know how they would get supplies for their children,” Davis said. “It was very moving.”
Taylor Dantona, 11, a seventh-grader at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, played a dual role at the fair. He checked out the activities and also helped at the archeology booth sponsored by the Audubon Naturalist Society.
Eric and his father, Joseph Dantona, and Sarah Mattes, of Potomac, helped children dig through sand looking for seeds and learning to identify the plants they would grow into.
“It’s really fun, you meet some nice people and the kids learn something new,” Taylor said.
Davis was part of the first Back to School Fair held in 2008 and has seen the event grow each year.
“We wanted a way for school system staff to interact with parents, to connect with families, answer their questions and give them resources and information to help their students at home,” he said. “We had, it looks like 10,000 people, that’s what I was hoping for.”
He and his staff will soon begin planning for next year’s fair.
“This is an annual event, the community really came out to pick up information and they really had fun,” he said.
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