Back to School Bash returns to Oxford this weekend
“We wanted to make sure that we were providing things that everybody would need to be successful in going back to school, while making it fun.”
The Kiwanis Club of Oxford will host the Back to School Bash on Sunday, Aug. 16 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Oxford Aquatic Center, located at 701 Kay Rench Dr.
The event will be free and open to everyone and will include free admission to the pool as capacity allows. There will be pizza, snow cones and inflatables, as well as several services for families, including haircuts, clothing, school supplies and vaccines.
Oxford Kiwanis president-elect Tom Cooke said the event serves as an end-of-summer party for the children and a resource for their families. He said the event embodies Kiwanis’ mission of “improving the world one child and one community at a time.”
Kiwanis began holding the Back to School Bash in 2022 to provide centralized and accessible resources to families with school-aged children.
“We wanted to make sure that we were providing things that everybody would need to be successful in going back to school, while making it fun,” said Jennifer Marston, Oxford Kiwanis assistant treasurer and Back to School Bash chair.
Admission to the Oxford Aquatic Center is free for Back to School Bash attendees. Photos provided by Jim Kiper.
In previous years, there have been about 700 attendees from about 400 families, Marston said. Last year alone, 95 free haircuts were given.
“It looks like it’s mayhem, but it’s actually controlled chaos,” Marston said. “You can get dinner, you can go play on the inflatables, you can go swimming, play yard games, talk to the social service agencies or visit with whoever you want to.”
This year, a $2,000 grant from the McCullough-Hyde Foundation helped pay for most of the school supplies that will be distributed, Cooke said. Other donations, including from the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, also helped fund the event.
The Oxford Lane Library, Kroger Pharmacy, Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services, Thread Up Oxford, the Talawanda School District, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, the Oxford Senior Center and PNC Bank will have representatives at the event as well.
This year is the Kiwanis Club of Oxford’s 100-year anniversary and its fifth year holding the Back to School Bash.
“Every year it gets bigger and better,” Marston said.
