Annual book bag and school supplies giveaway held by the Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance holding its 8th Annual Back 2 School Free Book Bags and its first Stop The Violence Rally, partnering with dozens of volunteers, local churches and community organizations to hold the event.

The event was held yesterday at the MLK Community Center on 8th Street in Wilmington.
Hundreds of book bags were distributed with school supplies for students of all ages in low-income families. Novant Health was onsite to provide blood screening and wellness checkups, and New Hanover County Health Department was present giving free COVID-19 shots.

The stop youth violence rally held on the nearby field featured local testimonies from Moms-N-Mourning, and speeches from elected officials, and was attended by DA Ben David, and New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust.

“We packed close to 3,000 book bags during the week, and so hopefully we give them all away,” said Kristie Ford, Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.

“That’s the goal, we give them all away, and also we’re emphasizing stop the violence, because one of the things that plagues our community is the number of gun violence, and crime on crime, and so we’re really trying to talk to parents and students about if you see something, you need to report it, but also make better decisions,” said Clifford Barnett, Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.

Event attendees were also able to get free plate of food, get ID’s made for their child by the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and receive a fresh bag of produce distributed by Nourish NC.