Our Goal:

The Back 2 School Festival was founded on the belief that every child deserves to start the school year feeling confident and prepared. A child that feels confident is more likely to succeed.

Provide

an environment for kids to get prepared and excited about school

Encourage

students to think of ways they can make a difference in our community

Help

all children to realize their unlimited potential

We Provide:

School supplies, new shoes & socks, backpacks, hair cuts, activities, helpful information and healthy food in an atmosphere of fun, dignity and respect.

We offer relief for local parents who are working hard to make ends-meet! We help teachers by providing the tools their students need to succeed.

We Encourage:

Community involvement. From collection efforts, to volunteer opportunities, to having a presence at the festival, we want the community to invest in the success of our students. We want the festival to be an event where members of our community from all different walks of life can come together for the goal of helping local students feel confident and prepared or the year ahead. 

We encourage churches and other organizations to set up activity/information booths to engage families and get the students excited about heading back to school. Activity booths help make this event the festival that it has become. Booths with activities are the biggest hits! Back-to-school shopping can be fun for everyone regardless of income. B2SF has turned the dread of school supply shopping into a fun experience for those in our community that otherwise may not even be able to afford these supplies.

We Help:

Any Watauga County families struggling to afford the high costs of sending their children back to school. School readiness shopping can easily cost over $160 per child, not including shoes and clothes! That is a heavy burden for middle and low income families. 

In 2019, parents and students lined up 2 hours before the festival started! Almost 1,200 kids, along with their parents, showed up only confirming the need for B2SF. Over 2,000 people total attended the B2SF to enjoy playing games, eating free lunch and hanging out with cool mascots like Yosef and the Chic-fil-a Cow! Parents were so grateful. Kids were thrilled.  We also network with school social workers to get supplies to children who were unable to attend the festival.