Back to school bash held for Tuscaloosa City School students

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - A non-profit hosted a special event for some Tuscaloosa City School students last Tuesday when Soles4Souls outfitted students who are homeless with many things they will need to start the new school year off right.

Tesney Davis with Tuscaloosa City Schools helped coordinate the event at the New Heights Community Resource Center.

Everyone is getting ready to go back to school, but Davis said Tuesday’s event was a little bit different.

“Our social workers in local schools have identified students who may not be able to return to school because of barriers like clothes or school supplies. A lot of these students are either homeless or at risk of being homeless,” Davis said. “Our hope is that this event will be able to provide them with what they need - a fresh haircut, a fresh outfit, shoes, socks - and they’ll be able to start back with pride and feeling good about themselves.”

What’s really great about being able to provide these things for kids at the start of the school year is the positive momentum it can create for them through the rest of the year.

“One of our district goals this year is to makes sure we’re focused on the social and emotional wellness of our students,” Davis said. “We really want to focus on our students feeling good about themselves because research shows that they do better academically.”

Tuscaloosa City School students head back to class on Wednesday.

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