The sixth annual Kidz Day will take place on Aug. 4 at the Maysville Rotary Park.
The Kidz Day event, which is hosted by Maysville resident LaRon Washington and the New Hope Community Services, assists families with school supplies.
During the day, backpacks stuffed with school supplies are given to school aged children. There are also games that children can play to win other school supplies.
The school supplies include pens, pencils, notebooks, folders and other items that may be needed during the school year.
“We stuff the backpacks,” Washington said. “We try to make sure each backpack is geared toward the appropriate age group.”
Washington said he started Kidz Day because of the need in his community.
“I moved back to Maysville six years ago,” he said. “I’m from Maysville, but I lived in Lexington for 15 years before coming home and starting my own business. One of the things I noticed was the poverty level, at the time, was really high. I wanted to do something to help, especially for single parents who have a hard time with getting school supplies for their kids.”
Washington said the event started out with giving out about a 100 backpacks, but has grown since the first year.
“Now, we have people donating, churches donating,” he said. “Last year, we gave out about 370 backpacks. We usually try to come up with between 200 to 400 backpacks. I can’t promise that everyone will get one, but we always try our best to accommodate as many people as we can.”
According to Washington, the even also includes bouncy houses, food and other activities.
“When I first started this, we decided to do it on the same day as the Maysville Classic, because that was geared more toward adults and wanted to have something the kids could do, too,” he said. “We have activities, food and drinks for everyone during the day.”
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rotary Park and is open to any family in need to help with school supplies. A registration table will be set up for parents to fill out information and the event is free.
“It’s a day for kids,” he said. “I want to take care of Mason County, but I wouldn’t turn any child away. I don’t care where you’re from. Everyone is invited. The more kids we have, the better. Just show and have a good time.”
Washington said the volunteers are a big part of the reason his event is so successful.
“The volunteers are very important,” he said. “I couldn’t do it on my own. They make this happen every year and I want them all to know how much I appreciate them.”
