New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has soles for souls as students head back to school.
The Stonecrest megachurch plans to give away 3,000 pairs of shoes during its annual back-to-school event on Aug. 3.
“We have been completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our congregation and the community,” Senior Pastor Jamal H. Bryant said in a statement. “Families have so much on their plates as they prepare their young ones to head back to school and we know the financial burden for some of those families to buy shoes and other items has become too great.”
DeKalb County School District students head back to the classroom on Aug. 5.
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Although the church is located in DeKalb County, organizers said students from other school districts are welcome.
There is still in need of small-sized, half-sized and large-sized shoes.
The event runs from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m. at the church, 6400 Woodrow Rd. Registration is required.
To register, go to newbirth.org/events. All students must be accompanied by an adult or guardian. For more information or to make a donation, call 678-824-1008 or email outreach@newbirth.org.
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Many faith communities offer back-school events to help students or teachers.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, the national non-profit, ICNA Relief (Islamic Circle of North America Relief), will distribute backpacks and supplies to children in need, as part of their #OneNationOneCause Back2School Drive held across the nation.
ICNA Relief Atlanta plans to distribute 1,000 backpacks and supplies at the Clarkston Community Center, 3701 College Ave. This drive is in collaboration with partners including local faith groups, nonprofits and libraries.
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Supplies can be mailed or dropped off at Masjid Maryam, 3650 Savannah Place Dr. in Duluth.
Also, North Point Community Church in Alpharetta is holding a back-to-school drive collection for schools in the North Fulton area.
Affiliate churches are holding similar drives.
Items will be collected before and after services on Sunday. People can donate school supplies such as backpacks, headphones, binders, pencils and combination locks.
The supplies will be delivered to schools on Aug. 1.
This is the third year for the drive.
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