Back-to-school festival features family fun with a purpose

by Kristin Wedemeyer Goss

Summer break is winding down, and Momentum Christian Church is ramping up for its Back to School Fest. The free outdoor event is open to the public and will feature food, live music, carnival games, bouncy houses and a video game truck.

The festival is an afternoon packed with fun, but it has a more serious underlying mission: to ensure that students in need have what is necessary to head back to class.

“Originally we began the event when we launched the new campus in 2014, as a way to serve the community by just hosting a completely free event so people could see that we are a welcoming, down-to-earth church,” said Momentum’s Twinsburg/Macedonia Campus Minister Curtis Teel. “We got hooked up with the Emergency Assistance Center, and that has been the perfect partnership.”

TEAC, a nonprofit food pantry in Northfield, provides Momentum with a list of its participating families with children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Those children are registered as VIPs for the event.

Last year, the festival drew an estimated 900 people, about 250 of whom had VIP passes that allowed them inside the church, where new backpacks and school supplies awaited, and volunteer stylists from the Paul Mitchell School were on hand to give the them a fresh look.

“We’ve been using the VIP passes for about three years now, and it’s a great way for TEAC families to feel welcome and [for us] to control who’s coming in for the supplies, since they are not for everyone that attends the event,” said Krista Tokarz, Momentum’s VIP TEAC coordinator. “Everyone is all smiles and so excited to pick out their backpacks. The parents are thrilled with the supplies, which can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 per student. This is a great way to help families that need a bit of help.”

Starting in late May, Tokarz works closely with TEAC Executive Director Joyce Hunt to gather backpacks, secure stylists and to make sure there are enough supplies to go around.

“Joyce orders boxed school supply kits for the 250 students, and I do an inventory to see what we have left over from the year before,” said Tokarz. “Then I collect and count the donations that come in, as well.”

She also relies on volunteers from the church to ensure the day goes smoothly. “I usually have about 10 to 12 volunteers that work just with the TEAC families to help the kids pick out their backpack full of supplies and then give them their box of supplies,” Tokarz said. “Once they do that, the families go to our basement and sign up for back-to-school haircuts. More volunteers help sign in the students and direct them to which stylist to go to.”

Last year, Tokarz said there were about 10 volunteers from the Paul Mitchell School snipping and styling.

While the supplies and backpacks are back-to-school essentials, making the kids feel special is the underlying goal.

“The VIP passes add a very intentional element that we want the event focused on,” said Teel. “At Momentum, we want to help people win, most importantly spiritually, but so often that comes by helping people win battles they’re facing with real-life problems. We want people to see how much God loves them in a wonderfully tangible way.”

Tokarz added that the afternoon is a special time for everyone who comes to the Back to School Fest, perhaps more so for the VIPs and their families.

“With all the music, games and fun outside, these families get a fun, free day to enjoy together,” said Tokarz. “The kids come out with their new haircuts and are smiling and proud. We have a lot of grandparents who are raising grandchildren, and this event and the school supplies are a great gift to them.”

Hunt, who works with the VIP families throughout the year, agreed. “Momentum does a fantastic job reaching out to the community and to our clients,” she said. “They make everyone feel valued and loved.”

The Back to School Fest is Aug. 10 from noon-4 p.m. at Momentum’s Macedonia/Twinsburg campus located at 1717 East Aurora Rd.

Featured image photo caption: Chomps, the Cleveland Browns mascot, was on hand at the 2018 Back to School Fest with (l-r) Randy Hyde, chairman of the board at The Emergency Assistance Center, TEAC board member Janet Meyer and TEAC Executive Director Joyce Hunt. The Northfield-based food pantry helps gather and pass out school supplies during the annual August event, which is organized by Momentum Christian Church.