Last Updated on August 2, 2022 11:24 am
[Boone, NC] – Organizers for the Watauga Back 2 School Festival announced today that they are still in need of donations and volunteers for the 10th annual event, which will be held on Saturday, August 13 at Watauga High School.
“We’re currently about $20,000 short from our fundraising goal for the year,” said the festival’s publicity coordinator, Mattie Lucas. “Supplies are so much more expensive this year, and because of that we’re expecting a larger turnout than usual since more people are going to be struggling to cover the cost. And that means the festival is going to cost more than ever so we can meet that demand.’
Monetary donations aren’t the only demand the festival is trying to keep up with – according to volunteer coordinator, Anna Floyd, more volunteers are needed to help set up and staff the event. “It takes hundreds of volunteers to make an event of this size happen,” Floyd said. “We still need folks to help us set up at the high school on Thursday and Friday, staff the festival itself, as well as assist with clean up after it’s over.”
Every year the Watauga Back 2 School Festival provides over 1,000 local students with school supplies they need to start the school year off confident and prepared. Handing out everything from backpacks, pencils, and notebook paper, to earbuds, glue sticks, and even shoes, the Back 2 School Festival also maintains a supply closet that school social workers can access year-round to make sure no student goes without the essential tools they need to succeed in school.
The Back 2 School Festival is sponsored in part by Mast General Store, Americans Helping Americans, Astro Yeti Media, Alliance Bible Fellowship, and Mount Vernon Baptist Church, and is supported by individual donors from across the High Country. Those who wish to donate, volunteer, or learn more about the event can visit the organization’s website at www.back2schoolfest.org.
