The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Getting children ready to thrive
Organizations host back to school bash to show care and help more youngsters learn in school
Back to school festivities took the day in Lorain on Aug. 18 with local organizations teaming up to send local students back to the classroom on the right track.
The Spot Barbershop collaborated with El Centro de Servicios Sociales and the Mexican Mutual Society in a back to school spectacular.
For the last 10 years The Spot Barbershop has been offering free haircuts to youngsters the Sunday before school starts as a way to help get them in a positive mindset for the new year. Kids began lining up as early as 7:30 a.m. for a new fresh look.
“This is the mother of all community events. The idea was to get all the faces of a community. To me the faces of the community are first responders and peoples faces that people see daily,” said Angel Ayala of The Spot. “There’s a lot of kids that see us too. So we thought it was a good idea to have the event under one roof and give back.”
The initiative saw more 150 backpacks filled with school supplies donated to local Lorain youth expanding their annual back to school haircuts and welcoming local first responders to get in on the action at a barbecue at the Mexican Mutual Society in an afternoon of fun.
“The main drive is just always giving back to the community,” Ortiz said.
“The main focus was just reaching out to people in the community and being there for them. They need that. They need that direction; they need that father figure and they need those therapists. And that’s what we do all day. We are therapists to these kids and it’s our way of giving back.”
El Centro Community Outreach Director Martin Leibas said they more than happy to be a part of the initiative. He thanked the multitude of organizations who made contributions and donations including Church of the Open Door, the Coalition for Hispanic/Latino Issues and Progress, Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will, Lorain County Commissioners, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County.
“When Daniel (Ortiz) approached I said, ‘How can El Centro give a hand?’” Leibas said.
“It’s just been a big community collaboration and I like it. At one time we had 100 kids over in the yard here. 28th Street really came alive and said, ‘How can we help?’” Leibas added.
Back to School Festival: Lorain Stop the Violence
A second event at Lorain’s Central Park involved an organization dedicated to making Lorain safer for young people as they gathered for a back to school festival.
Lorain Stop the Violence welcomed youth for an afternoon of fun before school resumes with food, face painting, school supply giveaways and guest speakers.
Stop the Violence Founder Kyriece Brooks said he wanted to organize the event as another way to heal the community.
“We need to come together and develop or form some type of anti-crime patrols to protect our citizens from all the violence,” Brooks said.
“Please help our citizens, share your thoughts and ideas with others in charge of our city or me. Help keep our young citizens safe. We are losing a battle that does not have to be lost. It takes all community members to raise a productive citizen and that is what young people are.”