ROWAN COUNTY — Parents and students looking to get back into school spirit will have plenty of opportunities to do so this weekend. 

For starters, the Thelma Smith Foundation’s 14th Annual Back to School Jam will be held at North Rowan Middle School, 512 Charles Street, Spencer, on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. 

“It’s going to be inside of the gymnasium as well as the cafeteria, but the gymnasium is going to be the main attraction,” said Melissa Summers, the Thelma Smith Foundation South Branch president. “We will be giving away free food, drinks and school supplies while they last. We will have games, vendors and community awards.”

Summers said that inside the gymnasium, they plan to set up a bounce house, offer free face painting, cotton candy and popcorn, in addition to the numerous vendors and community partners signed up to participate. 

The event is not just for fun though. As Summers’ organization has done for years, they plan to hand out school supplies to area students gearing up to return to the classroom. 

“We are giving book bags with school supplies,” Summers said. “We have notebooks, composition books, folders, packs of pencils and colored pencils and crayons. Each child will get those set-ups along with other people who have donated bookbags already stuffed as well.”

While the event is being held in North Rowan Middle School, it is not exclusively for students in the North Rowan school district or strictly for middle-school-aged students.  

“The children have to be there with the parents,” Summers said. “We just have a general check-in when they come in and tell us how many children they have and what grade level they are in.”

Summers said they specialize the backpack for kindergarten through the third grade and then fourth grade through 12th grade. 

“We try to tell people the earlier, the better,” Summers said. “Once we hit that count, everything is given out. Our prospective number is to serve 300 children. We know we might have more children that show up, but they are welcome.”

This is the 14th event and 15th year the organization has conducted the back-to-school festivities. 

“When COVID hit, we could not do the event,” Summers said. 

The organization has never done it at North Rowan Middle, though. 

“This is our first time at North Rowan,” Summers said. “We kind of try to get on each side of the town. We are counting our blessings to be able to utilize North Rowan.”

The Thelma Smith Foundation South Branch is located at 1435 West Ridge Road, Salisbury. Anyone interested in donating can contact Summers at 704-490-3505 or thelmasmithsouthbranch@yahoo.com. They will be able to take donations through Friday. 

 

Rita Hands Back to School Bash

Those who are unable to attend the event at North Rowan or who might live in the eastern part of Rowan County will have the chance to attend the 6th Annual Rita Hands Back to School Bash at Rockwell Park, 699 Lake Dr., Rockwell.

The event is hosted by Barringer-Holshouser VFW Post 9134 and Auxiliary. It kicks off at 4 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. 

Auxiliary President O’Shannus Wood said they pack more than 200 bags of free school supplies, including basic essentials for every grade level. 

“We do spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, pencils, pens, headphones, erasers and pencil pouches,” Wood said. “We have scholarship information that we include and coupons to various businesses around the county.”

Also included in the bags are passes to such local fixtures as Tiger World and Woodleaf Lanes.

The organization raises money to keep the annual tradition alive through a Chinese auction, which will take place again this year. Guests buy tickets and place them in a cup associated with various prize packages. The winning ticket is then drawn from the cup. The more tickets a guest drops, the better their chances of winning become. 

“So far, we have about 20 different baskets, Wood said. 

There are several other free activities taking place, including a bounce house, face painting, a helicopter landing and music from DJ Sutton.

The vendor lineup includes Saving Grace Farms; NC Values; Sweet Sippers Caffeine Club; Project Light Rowan; Carnival Treats and Bakery; Mama’s Little Lemon; 3 V Cafe; Tastefully Simple by Keisha; Help A Vet Shine; Smart Start Rowan; and Sassy Stewart’s Custom Creations. 

Beautifully You Salon will also be there to offer back-to-school haircuts. 

Additionally, the VFW will have booth set up to talk about scholarships and Veterans Affairs will be out with info about its PTSD programming. 

“There are counseling services that come and set up for students that might need counseling as well,” Wood said.

For more information, visit the VFW’s Facebook page.