We’ve rounded up a few photos from a few of the folks that were present at the fair and compiled them into an album that is available now in our Photos section of the website. If you were at the event and took photos we would love to see them. Please let us know by submitting the form on our Contact page. As mentioned in previous posts, it was soggy and wet afternoon but we all had a great time including the children and that it’s what all this is about. Have a great school year everyone!

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Back to school fair in Holyoke: wwlp.com

Well we have wrapped up our 2nd Annual Back 2 School Fair and even though the rain put a small damper to the festivities it did not deter hundreds of families and volunteers from coming out and having a great time. Over 650 Families went home with the basic school supplies needed to start the school year on the right foot.

Many special guest where present and showing support including Mayor Elaine Pluta, School Committee Member Gladys Lebron, Alex Morse (Candidate for Mayor), Anthony Soto (Candidate for Holyoke City Council) and Joshua Garcia (Candidate for Holyoke School Committee).

A big thanks to all our hundreds of volunteers, sponsors and friends of the community who braved the weather for this very special event.

Photos and video will be made available in the coming days. Also keep an eye out on TV22, the Holyoke Sun and other media outlets who covered the event.

Media Links:
TV22: Back to school fair in Holyoke

Hi Everyone,
the weather forecast for Sunday is calling for Mostly cloudy and humidity with periods of rain in the afternoon. As you can see from the infographic to the left the amount of rain and or precipitation is less than an inch (.08) with a 24% chance of thunderstorms not great news but also not too bad. It will probably be just a drizzle or light rain for a couple of hours. We hope and pray that it does not rain at all but the Back 2 School Fair will go on as scheduled.

The Nuestras Raices Farm main stage area and surroundings are heavily covered by trees and foliage so if we stay in this area we should be all set. But we do suggest that if you have an umbrella or poncho you might want to bring it along just to be safe.

We sincerely hope that everyone can still come out and have a fun time with us and enjoy the festivities, oh and the free school supplies

As we mentioned last year we were not aware a fellow congregation held their own back to school fair.  Emanuel Restoration Center, Inc. is holding their fair the day before ours for the second consecutive year so we have ourselves a second consecutive “Unofficial Holyoke Back to School Weekend“.

This means even more back to school supplies are available to our friends and family in Hampden County. We invite one and all to partake in the festivities. It’s going to be lots of fun for all.

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Time: 12 to 4 pm
Location: Chestnut Street between Cabot and Essex St. (Behind Public Library)
More Info: 413-532-3980

Earlier today (Friday 8/5/11) our fair director Veronica Rivera, coordinator, Orlando Ramos and participant, Karyann Cruz took part in the daily WWLP TV22 Live Show Mass Appeal. Below is the entire segment. We think they did a great job, don’t you? Remember the 2nd Annual Back 2 School Fair will be held Sunday the 14th of August from 2pm to 5pm at he Nuestras Raices Farm at 24 Jones Ferry Road, Holyoke, MA 01040. All are welcome, young and old, to join in the food, fun and of course free school supplies.

The Back2School Fair: wwlp.com

Family of 4 Being Registered.

Doing social good is becoming quite the trend in the age of social media. Many a folk helping charities such as Livestrong, the Red Cross, 12 for 12k and many others using twitter and facebook to spread the word. Then there are fund raising initiatives that where formed specifically to be shared on twitter such as Twestival, Tweetsgiving, Twollars and others that used the power of social media to spread and expand the message of social good, be it by donating a monetary amount orsharing it with their friends . We at B2S love to see all of this and have even participated in many of these initiatives.

A kitty face paint.

The B2S committee got to thinking why not reach out to our friends in the twitterverse and social circles? Helping and providing free school supplies to families in need is something we feel passionate about and I know many of you feel the same way.

Last year over 700 people attended the 1st Annual Back 2 School Fair and were able to provide over 500 of them with essential school material. To our dismay many had to be turned away due to a lack of supplies. This is why we are reaching out to you. We want to double the amount of students we provide supplies to and with your help it can be done!

How You Can Help

There are several ways you can help.

1. Donate: We’ve setup a wepay donations page that makes it secure and  easy to donate. $1 or more will help. You can also donate school supplies and drop them off at our facilities. Contact us if you wish to donate school supplies.
2. Blog: If you have a blog and live in Hampden County we would love for you to write up a post that links back to our site and talks about our initiative. Contact Us If you would like to interview a committee member.
3. Tweet: Spread the word on Twitter. Use the button below to automatically add a tweet to your profile. You will be able to edit the text before sending. http://clicktotweet.com/
4. Facebook: Copy then paste the message in the box below into your status. Tip: Make it personal. You know your friends better than we do, edit the text to suit.

Share With Friends!

Hey Guys, I’m helping spread the word about a great cause. I hope you can help as well. The Annual Back 2 School Fair provides free school supplies to students of families in need. Learn how you can help here. – http://j.mp/b2sfair After clicking the button hit “ctrl + c” to copy then paste in your facebook status box.

Various other forms of sharing this article can also be found below.

In 2009 our country faced some really tough times during the recession. Many families were faced with many difficult decisions as parents lost jobs and were forced to cut back on spending. In 2010 we held the “1st Annual Back 2 School Fair” and felt in our hearts to serve these families by providing students of all ages the basic tools (backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc.) to start off the school year on the right foot.

It is now 2011 and though we see a brighter future many families are still struggling due to sub-par income and increased cost of living. Many of the kids in our community will still not have the basic tools necessary to start school. We feel a strong conviction in our hearts to help and assist students with school materials, free of charge, help them focus on their education and at the same time alleviate some of the stress parents feel at the beginning of the school year.

In 2010 we received amazing support from companies around the city of Holyoke and Springfield, and we are truly thankful for their support! Over 500 students went home that day with backpacks and bags full of school material. This year we want to reach a lot more, our goal is to double the amount of supplies so we can reach a greater part of the community. Even though we had a great turn out last year It broke our hearts to have to turn away some folks without supplies with your support we can avoid this from happening again. With your support and donations we can all make a huge impact in the Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield communities.

This year’s fair will be held on August 14, 2011. There will be many different agencies promoting their support to the community and special guests who will speak about the importance of staying in school, and also motivate students to go to college. We will also have:

• Food
• Clowns
• Raffles
• Face painting
• Live Music
• and much more!

We humbly request a donation to assist those in need. All donations are tax exempt! The Apostolic Christian Church is a registered 501(c)(3) non profit organization.

We will be promoting this event on the radio, web, and promotional flyers will be handed out in Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield MA.

If you are interested in supporting please contact us today!

We are happy to report that the inaugural Back 2 School Fair was a resounding success. Hundreds of disadvantaged families and students attended and were provided with backpacks stuffed with notebooks, pencils, glue, crayons and other school supplies. In attendance were over 700 families, exhibitors, volunteers and guest speakers.

Everyone was delighted with live performances by kids and adults a like with a positive message to stay in school and reach for the stars. Guest speakers included two professionals who overcame very tough childhoods got themselves educated and are now very happy and accomplished members of society. The children were entertained by clowns, face painting and even a bounce house.

The Honorable Elaine A. Pluta, mayor of Holyoke, also stopped by and provided words of encouragement to those in attendance.

The event coordinator, Veronica Rivera, and the rest of the committee were very pleased with the overall turn out of the event and are very thankful for each and every volunteer, exhibitor and person who helped put it all together.

Next year our goal is to provide at least 1,000 backpacks filled with supplies to the community of Holyoke. We hope you can join us next year, as a volunteer, exhibitor or donor.

See More Photos in The Gallery