Students can have one last celebration before heading back to school at the annual Oglethorpe County Community Day, which will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department.
The Community Day Committee will provide a free pair of headphones that can plug in to the tablets used by the schools to each student in attendance, thanks to donations from sponsors and vendors. The baseline sponsorship otherwise known as Community Partner allows organizations to have a spot with just a $50 donation.
Jeanne Jones, the event’s coordinator, wants to “celebrate” the students before they start another school year. The high school and primary substitute teacher, as well as preschool teacher at Winterville First Baptist, wants to connect residents to their community.
“There is no other event in the county, such as this community day, where we can all come together and celebrate our students and get the families connected with the things that are important to them and to help make our families and our students successful,” Jones said.
The main purpose of this event is to connect parents and students to the resources that are available to them. The committee wants the community to start the school year off right and learn what sources are available.
“A lot of our students and families don’t know what’s available to them out in the communities, as far as health services, mental health services, help with bills, things like that,” Jones said.
The vendors include local businesses, organizations and churches. The committee is “excited” to welcome back Salem Baptist, which will host a bounce house slide for the children.
Residents can look forward to gifts and drawings, as well as food trucks. Attendees can also participate in the “Touch-a-Truck” event, which allows for residents to look inside a fire truck.
The event will conclude with a family movie night at sunset.
“We have been fortunate enough for our school system to provide the majority of the school supplies for our students over the last couple years,” said Tina White, a mother of two school-age children. “This group has tried to bridge the gap of any additional items needed.”