By LINDA CHION KENNEY
linda@observernews.net
The annual Back 2 School Bash at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds is set to offer some financial and stress relief, with free backpacks stuffed with school supplies and school district officials on hand to discuss and register students for student aid, services and programs.
The three-hour event, presented by the East Hillsborough Community Partnership, is set to kick off at 9 a.m., August 1, at 215 Sydney Washer Road in Dover.
“This year, especially, it just seems like prices keep going up and up and up, for rent, food, utilities, gas and more,” said Steve McKinnon, who serves on the board for the Emergency Care Help Organization in Brandon and Riverview, one of the partnership’s five founding members.
“For many parents and guardians in our community, it’s become difficult to supply everything their kids need for going back to school.”
Admission and parking are free for the Back 2 School Bash, which includes corn hole and other games for kids and has gained the support of businesses and organizations alike. Up to 100 vendors are set for the event as well, offering school-related items and more.
“There will be free immunizations, Lions Club providing free vision screenings, Florida Fresh providing snacks, Rotarians supplying a couple thousand hot dogs and buns, and Coca-Cola bringing out some drinks,” said McKinnon of ECHO, a nonprofit that aims to help families move from crisis to stability, with emergency food and clothing assistance, as well as job coaching, workforce development, financial education and community resource referrals.
Also among the founding members of the East Hillsborough Community Partnership are Wimauma-based Enterprising Latinas; Brandon-based Hope for
Her; Dover-based Bikes for Christ; and Tampa-based Boricuas de Corazon, which in English and Spanish provides disaster relief services, including connections to housing, social services and recovery resources, as well as emergency food and supplies, preparedness education, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training and volunteer opportunities. The nonprofit, at the bash, is expected to distribute 400 boxes of food relief.
The three-hour event kicks off Saturday, Aug. 1, at 9 a.m., with the expectation to distribute 2,000 or so backpacks to school-aged children, ages 5 to 18. Parents and guardians are required to show a valid form of identification for backpacks filled with essential school supplies, which will be distributed on a first- come first-served basis.
“We’re aiming to speed up the registration and make it so that nobody’s waiting in long lines, as in years past,” McKinnon said. “People arrive early and they had to wait in line, so this year we’re [aiming for] a really quick check-in, with the use of QR codes, which [attendees] can use for part of the registration, while still in the parking lot.”
The event is in support of the 2026-27 school year, which for students begins Monday, Aug.10. The academic year runs through May 28, and includes breaks for fall (Nov. 23-27), winter (Dec. 21 through Jan. 4) and spring (March 22-26). The first day off is Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Meanwhile, the East Hillsborough County Community Partnership prepares for the event and has volunteer opportunities available to help stuff the backpacks with school supplies.
The event promises to bring recognition to partnership members, including Enterprising Latinas, which provides programs in English and Spanish to help participants build skills, secure employment, start or grow businesses and achieve long-term economic stability.
Hope for Her provides emergency assistance, career and job readiness, financial coaching, life skills classes, mentoring, counseling referrals, community resource connections, and clothing for interviews and employment. Bikes for Christ provides donated bicycles to individuals and families facing transportation barriers throughout Hillsborough and surrounding counties.
For more on the Back 2 School Bash and for event and volunteer particulars, visit www.hillsboroughcountyfair.com/.