The 100 Black Men of Madison will host its annual Back to School Celebration at the Madison College Truax campus, 1750 Wright St., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 8-11 a.m.
This popular annual event hosts Dane County elementary and middle school students of limited-income families and their parents and invites them to receive a backpack full of supplies as they get ready for the new school year.
“We have been trying to be supportive of those students most in need for the existence of our organization … and that’s 29 years,” Dr. Floyd Rose, president of the 100 Black Men of Madison, tells Madison365.
(Photo by David Dahmer)
The 100 Black Men of Madison, Inc. began its operation in 1994 and was incorporated in 1995 as a nonprofit organization comprised of members from many professional disciplines in the greater Madison area. Over the years, according to its website, they have provided more than 42,000 free backpacks filled with school supplies to area at-risk youth in the last three decades at its Back to School Celebration, which used to be called “Backpacks for Success.” This year, with inflation and homelessness and other societal issues affecting families as much as ever, Rose says this will be an important event on Saturday.
“This is one of those years that has really been a struggle for those individuals who are really being challenged by hard times and from housing instability. That is real.” Rose says. “We know that some of our young people are dealing with this and it can be very challenging for so many families. So our focus is to really double down to help those most in need.”
To ensure a meaningful start to the school year for all students in the community, the annual Back to School Celebration will focus on the whole family. The event is more than just a place to get school supplies for school, it’s a place for the whole family to get community resources.
“We will have people there who will help with food pantry resources and other social services. We will have eye exam services to deal with the health of the attendees,” Rose says. “We’ll have groups that will come in and provide free new books to those children that will be participating in the Back To School event.
“We have really been laser-focused on literacy, and so we want to enhance and complement those opportunities. So while the students will get backpacks full of school supplies, they will also get books that they can select to enjoy when they get home,” Rose adds.
Children receiving free backpacks and school supplies must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The event will be held rain or shine.
The backpacks are already packed and ready to go. Volunteers and 100 Black Men members have been working on that over the last couple of weeks.
“We hope to exhaust everything that we have as far as the backpacks. I think that with this economy, there won’t be any left because the cost of these items, like everything else, has gone up so much over the last couple of years,” Rose says.
“All of the things that parents need for their children for school – that’s a challenge no matter who you are – it’s a lot of different things and it costs a lot of money,” Rose continues. “Our goal is to provide what we can from that standpoint, so that parents can then allocate their monies towards other things because kids are going to grow out of the clothes that they had last year. We’re hosting this event in August so parents can at least check off school supplies from their list right away as they prepare for the school year.”
