BY ETHAN STAMPER
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA —
More than 40 businesses, churches and organizations have banded together to host a Back-to-School Bash event for the city of Opelika.
The Ambassadors of Change is a collection of local nonprofits and businesses that came together to combine their resources in order to have the largest impact on the Opelika community as possible. The group formed roughly two and a half years ago with the idea to coordinate schedules and put on events with a wider impact.
“The purpose was to bring all of the nonprofit organizations and social clubs together to get one calendar so everyone would know what the other is doing, and to look at different opportunities that we can partner on versus having small events,” said Tiffany Gibson, founder of the local nonprofit Girls STEPS Inc. “We can put all of our resources together and have one large event so that we can reach more people and be more impactful, and this [Back-to-School Bash] is one of those events”
Girls STEPS Inc. is a nonprofit organization with the purpose to empower, inspire and motivate school-age girls by exposing them to various culturally enriched activities that will prepare them for success. Gibson founded the organization in 2015 and it has continued to grow ever since.
“I am a school counselor by trade, and I’ve worked in schools now for 21 years,” Gibson said. “I started Girls STEPS because, while I was a counselor at a secondary school, we were having issues with girls. So, I created a girl group at the school and I had more people from the community who stated that they would love for their child to be in such a program.”
The formation of the Ambassadors of Change allows nonprofits like Girls STEPS Inc. to have a larger impact on the community through their combined pooling of resources.
“We can do so much together,” Gibson said. “When we were separate, a lot of these groups were only getting 25 kids or so; but when we put all of our resources together, we are able to provide many more school supplies, but also serve more people in our community.”
The Back-to-School Bash is proof of what can be accomplished with a larger pool of resources and a common goal. Last year, the event served over 400 youth in the Opelika community, and this year they are projected to serve even more.
The event will offer giveaways, registration stations, school supplies, Spanish interpreters, college and military recruiters and access to school officials. Parents are required to accompany their child to the event and can be entered into giveaways for gift cards and supplies after attending parent’s sessions with their child.
“It is very important that parents understand the education of their children takes teamwork,” Gibson said. “It requires them, the child, the school system and the community to come together to make sure everybody’s doing their part so our kids can be more successful.”
The Back-to-School bash will be held July 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Covington Recreation Center located at 213 Carver Ave. in Opelika.