Elgin's back-to-school BBQ bash looking for volunteers

Organizers of the second annual "Back to School BBQ Bash" in Elgin are looking for volunteers to help with the festivities, including giving out hundreds of backpacks.

The event takes place 12 to 4 p.m. Aug. 17 at Wing Park with free food, entertainment, games, face-painting, free hair cuts and styling, and backpacks filled with school supplies. Last year's bash was attended by more than 1,200 people and distributed 500 backpacks, said Elgin Councilman Corey Dixon, one of the organizers. So far, 900 backpacks have been collected with the goal of collecting 1,500, he said.

"We want to celebrate the kids as they go back to school (to say) that the community is behind you, and that you can do it," Dixon said.

Volunteer coordinator Teresa Mascote of Together We Are Elgin said students can earn community service hours by volunteering. Aug. 14 is the first day of school for Elgin Area School District U-46.

"It's a great way to network among your community - helping others, meeting other people that you wouldn't have otherwise have met, and that can turn into great long-term relationships," she said. "Plus you get to see the whole event take place from a different place, which I think is a great thing."

The event is a combination of the annual free barbecue held in August by Together We Are Elgin - a group that organizes free community dinners started by Elgin restaurateur Jeff Turner - and a back-to-school initiative spearheaded by The Alanza James Foundation For Youth, a group founded by Dixon and his brother Jeremy Hawkins of Schaumburg.

The menu will include fried fish, roasted pig, pulled pork and egg rolls, donated by Delicia Tropical Cafe in Elgin and Food for Friends, Dixon said. Entertainment will include Funk Brotherz, Accidentally on Purpose, Ballet Folklorico Huehuecoyotl, the choir of Second Baptist Church of Elgin and more.

Backpacks and school supplies are being donated by community members, businesses like Blush by Tiffany in Elgin, and organizations such as Delta Sigma Theta and Lambda Theta Alpha, organizers said.

The bash also celebrates Elgin's diversity, Dixon said. "It allows for the diversity of the city to really shine - and that's really important to me," he said.

Anyone who wants to volunteer can sign up at signupgenius.com/go/8050F45AAAF22A4FA7-2ndannual. There are shifts for set up, registration booth, greeting and mingling, clean up and more. Bilingual volunteers also are needed.