Going back to school has never looked sweeter. Dozens of families filled the square to enjoy free food, games, gift basket drawings and donate some money to a good cause at the Back to School Block Party Thursday. PowerUp Iola, Kiwanis Club, several local churches, businesses, students and organizations from several area schools all banded together to raise money for local people in need.
“I’m very happy with all the support we’ve gotten,” said Elyssa Jackson, organizer.
There were a few kinks in the system, but they worked out the issues quickly with help from the community. For example, the dunk tank was discovered to have a leak in it, but Dieboldt Lumber supplied them with a pool liner.
“That was very nice,” she said.
Several booths sold T-shirts. One table featured a drawing with 15 different gift baskets to choose from, including a John Deere books and toys basket, a movie lovers basket and three mystery money prizes from Piqua State Bank.
The sno-cones proved to be very popular. Roger Carswell kept dumping more and more ice into the grinder while Carol Ross scooped and added flavors, but the line kept coming.
“I think we’re going to need more ice,” Carswell observed.
Kiwanis Club had brought the sno-cones and the miniature train to the Block Party and both were doing well. The crowds were all smiles with blue tongues from the icy treats, and more importantly the donation buckets were filling up.
Another booth that was doing well was face painting. Penny Herder, cheer coach, said the Iola High School cheerleaders volunteered without hesitation when they heard about the charity event.
“Everybody is pulling together, saying their prayers, hoping for a quick recovery,” Herder said. “We’re just anxious to hear good news.”
As the evening gave way to night, families brought lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy a showing of the 1994 film “Little Giants” on a big inflatable screen.
Organizer Pam Tressler said they did not have an estimate on how much money was raised yet, but she said she felt very grateful and blessed by the outpouring of support from the community.
The Back to School Block Party raised money for Cheyenne Reno and Kayla Genoble, local children battling cancer; Joyce Atkinson, a middle school teacher recently injured in a car accident; and Jamie Newland, a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School who also is fighting cancer.
Block party brings in large crowds
