CAIRO- Students and parents lined up Saturday morning for Grady County Family Connection’s annual Back 2 School Blitz held at Cairo High School. While new director Teresa Sigler was nervous about taking the reins on such a longtime function, the crowd turned out in masses, garnering the largest turnout yet. Sigler was thrilled with the participation from both vendors and students and parents. She explained in the past she was unable to attend the Back 2 School Blitz due to the short staffing at DCFS, where she previously worked.

“I’m really excited about the turnout,” she said. “I”m glad we are in the gym, where it’s air conditioned and are able to move people along.”

Sigler realized some families had to wait outside, before finally making their way into the line inside the gym.

“We try to host it in the morning, so it’s not as hot and

humid,” she said. “We know there’s a lot of caregivers here, some are a little older and have turned into caregivers for their grandchildren and we want to make it comfortable for everyone.”

Once inside the cool air, children and guardians received a variety of information and supplies, including, pencils and hygiene kits from over 30 vendors.

Gold, silver and bronze level sponsors provided Grady County Family Connection with monetary donations, allowing the Grady County School System to purchase mesh backpacks for everyone in attendance. However, other vendors were able to pass out additional information and items that would help both children and families in attendance.

While some of the vendors were school-related, others aimed to provide resources to the whole family. Safe Haven was one of the organizations, offering gun locks to parents as they walked through.

“We have a lot of hunters in South Georgia, so having gun locks is very important for our children,” Sigler said.

Another station was the Suicide Crisis Center, who gave out information to everyone, as they realize going back to school is both overwhelming for students and parents and can create a range of emotions.

However, a can’t miss vendor was the Cairo DUI School, which was the first vendor when students entered the gym.

“We have a lot of teenagers come through who need that driver safety course, and it helps with points if they’ve already got it on their license,” Sigler said.

Providing this information, along with supplies created a well-rounded event, but Sigler said the main focus will always be on school supplies.

“The lack of jobs means some kids will still go to school on the first day without supplies,” Sigler said. “But, what we do is take the leftovers from this event and divide them evenly among the schools.”

Giving a child school supplies, even if it’s just a backpack or pencils, alleviates some of the stress from parents and grandparents, because they do not have to decide how to allocate their money that month.

Sigler said she has often seen individuals faced with the struggle of paying a power bill or paying for school supplies/back to school clothes, and their goal is to always take away the stress of paying for school supplies.

Sigler also expressed her excitement at the diversity of the turnout, noting that everyone felt comfortable coming to the Back 2 School Blitz and knew they could turn to Grady County Family Connection for help when it is needed.

“We had translators at the door, so they could help with questions we may not be able to answer,” Sigler explained.

The time and effort to make this event a success and as accessible to all communities as possible did not go unnoticed by Sigler’s counterparts. Both Senator Sam Watson and Mayor Booker T. Gainor were in attendance on Saturday and had nothing but praise for the event.

“I think it’s great for the community to host something like this and it has a lot of community involvement and participation,” Watson said. “I think the crowd shows the need for it and I think both the citizens and parents appreciate it.”

Gainor also noted the crowd, stating the Back 2 School Blitz has the largest turnout of any non-sports related event.

“As a former school teacher, I know the importance of these events,” he said. “The vendor turnout is always great and so is the community’s, but I think this is the most attended one yet.”

Gainor applauded Sigler and former director Nola Daughtry for a job well done and thanked the vendors and sponsors for helping make this another successful school year for Grady County schools.