NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the school week begins, a local basketball league is helping families prepare their children for the first day back with essential supplies and free haircuts.
The Fat Boy Basketball league organized their third "Backpack and Beyond" giveaway to ensure kids can start school with confidence.
"You got pencils, pencil pouches, glue sticks, index cards," said Dada Silva with the Fat Boy Basketball league.
For the more than 100 men who play in the league, it's about more than just basketball it's about making a difference in their community.
"Take the positive from it. There is a lot that goes on here in these communities," Silva said. "The positive the influence the mentorship,the leadership, we try to teach them leadership and just guide them along the way."
The event provided backpacks filled with school supplies, free haircuts, and braids to help children feel prepared and confident for their return to the classroom.
"The backpacks, we got a lot of games out here, tug of war, flag football, just memories, you know," Silva said. "They come out it's all free."
According to Silva, the league provides the supplies from prepared lists and donations. "We actually operate off of a list, so our awesome ladies take care of that. They got it pretty loaded up for them though."
The initiative aims to level the playing field for all students on their first day back.
"It helps them fit in for the first day," said Calvin Mitchell, the league's founder. "It helps them fit in for the first day because your first impression is everything for the kids
The basketball league also promotes health among its members, with one player reportedly losing about 40 pounds last year.
The league is now preparing for open gyms starting in August and draft day in early September.
More information about the league can be found here.
If you know of other community organizations making a difference for local students, we'd love to hear about them. Email our reporter at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com to join the conversation.
This story was reported by Kim Rafferty and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Kim and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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