This weekend marks the last one before the academic year begins in Dallas ISD. Thousands of students will head back to school fully equipped, all thanks to the For Oak Cliff 10th Annual Back to School Festival.
'Y'all Saturday is gonna be love," the For Oak Cliff Co-Founder and Executive Director Taylor Toynes, Sr. said as he sang and stuffed clear plastic backpacks. "I love school!"
Staff and volunteers have been busy filling backpacks donated by Kershaw's Challenge with lined paper, composition notebooks, pencils, socks, and more.
"If we can remove $100, $50 worth of expenses because we're giving out backpacks with school supplies in them," Toynes said. "It gives them the confidence to go into a classroom and know I have the essential things I need to be the best student I can be."
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For Toynes, those free back-to-school backpacks have a deeper meaning. The event is how the nonprofit got its start 10 years ago.
"The Back to School Festival was a spark," Toynes said. "That's what it was; a spark to a fuse."
A decade later, For Oak Cliff now hosts the annual event at its 10-acre campus in South Oak Cliff.
"I think the For Oak Cliff Back to School Festival is one of the best places to see our culture as a people," Toynes said. "It'll be an Oak Cliff family reunion. I'll say that!"
The festival isn't just a backpack giveaway. There will be free haircuts, a job fair, a college fair, live entertainment, free food, and voter registration.
"When they come to get a backpack they also receive a life-changing experience, and that's what it's all about for us," Toynes said. "It's my life's work. It's my assignment."
The For Oak Cliff 10th Annual Back to School Festival starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, and runs until noon at the For Oak Cliff campus located at 907 East Ledbetter Drive in Dallas.
