Community Helping Community: Ashland Worship Center Distributes More Than 200 Backpacks
ASHLAND, Ohio — Saturday, 25, of July, What began as a desire to help local children prepare for a new school year grew into an afternoon filled with generosity, fellowship and faith at Ashland Worship Center.
Pastor Dan Stratford, his son Dan Stratford jr. and a team of volunteers set out to distribute more than 200 backpacks filled with school supplies during the church’s second annual Back-to-School Book Bag Bash. The free community event also featured haircuts, food, face painting, games and family activities.
Most importantly, organizers said, the event provided an opportunity to share the Gospel and show God’s love through service.
The July 25 celebration was held at Ashland Worship Center, located at 1420 Cottage Street. Families gathered throughout the afternoon to enjoy food and activities while children received the supplies they needed for the upcoming school year.
The church reported that more than 200 backpacks and school supplies were distributed, an enormous increase from the previous year.
During the inaugural giveaway, organizers had 75 backpacks available, but the entire supply was gone within approximately 15 minutes. After seeing the need firsthand, the church set a much larger goal for this year.
That goal was achieved through the generosity of church members, local businesses, organizations and residents who donated supplies, prizes, food, money and their time.
“What a wonderful, special time with our community and AWC family,” Ashland Worship Center shared following the event. “We met a lot of friendly people, prayed for some, laughed and got to know people, just how God wants us to be.”
The church thanked Dan and Denise Stratford for leading the effort, along with everyone who donated or volunteered to make the event possible.
“We gave over 200 bookbags away with supplies,” the Dan stated. “We are truly a blessed community to have each other. We are stronger together with God leading us.”
Beyond helping families with the cost of school supplies, the Book Bag Bash created a welcoming place where neighbors could meet, children could have fun and volunteers could offer encouragement and prayer.
The successful event served as a powerful example of a community helping its own, one backpack, one haircut, one meal and one act of kindness at a time.
