100 Black Men's Back to School Picnic A Hit
Al Studesville watched the children and teenagers, some as young as 4 or 5 years old, mill about Demetral Field Saturday afternoon at the 100 Black Men's Back to School Picnic, each carrying a brand-new backpack filled with school supplies.
"The backpacks are almost as big as they are," he said, laughing.
Studesville is one of the original members of the Madison chapter of the organization, which promotes leadership and improvement among the city's African-American community. Besides the annual picnic, the group provides tutoring and mentoring for students and organizes events such as an annual gala, a golf outing and an African American History Challenge Bowl that quizzes local teens on black history and provides scholarships to winning teams for a trip to the national event.
Studesville said the idea for the backpack giveaway came from members who participated in the tutoring program, who soon learned that many children who they taught did not have enough supplies for school. Every year since 1996, the organization has given away hundreds of free backpacks filled with school supplies such as notebooks, folders, rulers, markers and pencils to children of all ages and races at the event.