By Evelyn Wall

Special to the News-Herald

 

More than 175 students and parents attended the third annual Back-to-School Jump Off event recently at the East Suffolk Recreation Center on South Sixth Street.

The event was sponsored by a team of local 757 line dance groups called The 757 Crew. Tempestt Boone, coordinator of the event and instructor of the BAC Sliders line dance group in Hampton, has been heading this program annually for the past three years. Prior to this year, other cities including Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News accommodated the event.

“The purpose of this program is for us to give back to students of our communities, because we want to be a part of the village that helps raise our future leaders,” Boone said. “The way that the economy is today, their parents can use some help in obtaining supplies to save as much money as possible for other important purchases.”

To make the two-hour program more interesting, students were encouraged to participate in games to win additional supplies. At the end of the event, every child participant was able to receive supplies.

Children who arrived played Frisbee tic-tac-toe, inflatable ring toss, match ocean bingo, puzzles, duck matching game, carnival toss game, parachute, book bag walk, inflatable dice, scavenger hunt, clothes pin drop, bucket ball toss and can toss bean bag.

Members of the 757 Crew monitored each game. Supplies given out included pocket folders, colored pencils, spiral notebooks, loose leaf paper, blue and black ink and ballpoint pens, glue sticks, composition notebooks, crayons, blunt tip kids’ scissors, small bottles of hand sanitizer, book bags and back packs.

Members volunteering for food service also served free hot dogs, sodas and chips to all guests who arrived.

To conclude the event, members of the 757 Crew performed a sample of the latest line dances. They also invited guests to participate in the dances.

“The program went over well and I have been given positive feedback that we can do the same next year,” said Evelyn Wall, instructor of the East Suffolk Sophisticated Steppers, which is part of the 757 Crew.