LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Back-to-school events have been popping up everywhere, and organizers are hopeful they'll provide parents some relief when it comes to spending money on school supplies.
The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission hosted a back-to-school supply giveaway tour where organizers gave away thousands of school supplies.
The tour will be continuing throughout the state as parents like Dion Bax are gearing up for yet another school year.
"I'm ready for them to get back to school," Bax said.
Before he will send his three kids off to school, he stopped by Saturday's Back to School Bash to get a head start.
"It's very important for the kids to not only get free supplies but to keep them involved in education," Bax said.
Hundreds of parents and kids walked around the West Central Community Center on Saturday not only collecting new pencils and paper but also chatting with vendors.
"There's a lot of vendors here and we're learning new information. Every time we touch another table, I'm learning something different," Bax explained.
DuShun Scarbrough, executive director of the Arkansas MLK Commission said that it's vital for students to have everything they need in order to head back to class.
"Many parents have food insecurity and also monetary issues, so we wanted to step in and do all we could," Scarbrough explained.
This year, Scarbrough said that they even added a youth Comic-Con event to help kids focus on literacy in a fun and engaging way.
"We wanted to find something creative [and] to get kids involved in literacy," Scarbrough said.
He added that it made Saturday's event more than just a block party.
"These kids can be anywhere right now doing something regarding crime, but they're not. They are here [and] they're taking their time out on this Saturday," Scarbrough said.
He added that events like these are also a chance for the community to come together.
"I love events like this. It gives us a chance to participate," Bax said.