Tarrant County officials and a Fort Worth church hosted their 12th annual Back 2 School Festival. Kids received backpacks, supplies, haircuts, and clothes, while families connected with dozens of vendors offering resources to support success this school year.

Fort Worth

The Back 2 School Fest in Fort Worth marked its 12th year by providing essential school supplies, backpacks, haircuts, and new clothes to registered students. Hosted by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Potters House Church, the event also featured over 50 vendors offering information on topics such as technology and financial services, aiming to support families as they prepare for the new school year.

More than 800 students and their families attended the festival, which community leaders say grows each year. Organizers and parents highlighted the importance of such events in easing the financial burden of back-to-school shopping and fostering a supportive community environment for students.

Back 2 School Fest kicks off for 12th year in Fort Worth

For some students in North Texas, can you believe it? The new school year starts in just about two weeks. Mostly smaller rural districts. First, then both Dallas and Fort Worth ISD's start date begins August 12th, but community leaders are already working hard to make sure that students have what they need so they are ready to go hit the ground running on the first day of class. Fox 4 Amelia Jones is live tonight to explain this story for us. Hey Amelia. Hi there, Casey. Well, today's back to school festival. It's the 12th year for this event, and it was more than just backpacks and school supplies. Dozens of vendors were there to offer information to families on a variety of topics to make sure everyone is successful this year. Summer is still in full swing, but the start of a new school year is right around the corner. Saturday families came out to the back to school festival hosted by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Potters House Church in Fort Worth. Every year it gets better every year. We get more people to be a part of it. Patrick Winfield is the campus pastor. He says every kid who registered got a backpack full of school supplies, plus an opportunity to get a haircut in new clothes. There were also over 50 vendors offering information on a variety of topics from technology to financial services. We have a whole host of people here because the whole mission of all of us is to give to these families and to help our students to become the best that they can be this year. Parents like Enrique Muir appreciate the support. Get the kids excited about school starting soon and with everything being so expensive, it's a big help too. According to the National Retail Federation, data shows families are shopping for school supplies earlier this year compared to last year. Out of concern that prices will rise due to tariffs. We got the backpacks of paper. We got a couple of school supplies. We got a lot of material that they asked before, so it's a good thing that we can't. Terran County Sheriff Bill Wayborn says it's nice to be able to fulfill the need ahead of the school year. It is just incredible to see a church like Potterhouse get off the bench and get into the community to make a stronger and better community today. And Winfield believes when the community rallies around families and students, it can lead to much more than just academic success. It is us coming and saying, we love you, we support you. And when we do that as a community, students show up different and parents show up different because we're all standing together with them saying you can do this. You're going to have a great year. Today's event served over 800 students and their families. If you didn't get a chance to go and you're preparing to buy school supplies, just a reminder that the Texas sales tax holiday is coming up August 8th through the 10th, so hopefully you can save a few bucks on some of those items. Casey back to you. Yeah, a lot of people take advantage of that when you don't have to pay the sales tax, it adds up fast. Fox fours Amelia Jones. Thank you for your reporting tonight.

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