A small grant Cheri Fuqua received nearly a decade ago launched a neighborhood back-to-school event that continues today.
“After the first one, it just took off,” said Fuqua, who started Ms. Cynthia’s Back to School Bash in honor of a local teacher who passed out school supplies to needy students from her front porch.
Fuqua received a $600 grant in 2014 from the Community Connections Small Grants program . The program funds resident-led projects that enhance the quality of life in their communities.
The funding was enough to get the event off the ground. And over the years the event has become a staple for children in the Metcalfe Park and Sherman Park communities.
Fuqua said a neighbor Cynthia Barlow, a teacher with Believers In Christ Christian School saw kids walk to school with no bookbags. Barlow started supplying them to students. Inspired, Fuqua decided to help and the back-to-school bash grew from there.
“This is dedicated to her,” she said.
Featuring cookouts, bouncy houses, haircuts, music, and other fun activities, Fuqua distributes between 150 and 200 age-appropriate bookbags stuffed with school supplies each year.