MLK Back to School Festival

2025 MLK Back to School (Drive-Thru) Festival

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events

On Saturday, August 9, 2025, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hosted its annual MLK Back to School Festival, an event for students and families to receive free backpacks, school supplies, and other essential items for the new school year.

More than 30 community partners participated in the drive-through festival, distributing supplies to over 1,000 students and their families. 

Community Partners included LIRA, Reliant, Empowering the Masses, HELP, In the City for Good, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, SubroSmart, Southwest Transplant Alliance, Bailey-Guizar Group, DFW Alliance of Black Accountants, PNC Bank, CBRE, MB Events & Promotions, Recovery Resource Council & Dallas Area Drug Prevention Partnerships Coalition, Bless the Lord Outreach Ministry, The Family Place, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU), Bakari Behavioral Health, Inc., IDK Foundation, C5 Texas, Defend Your Drains, MLK, Jr. Recreation Center, City of Dallas – BEST, City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative (EEI), Uplift Education, Harmony Hearts Consulting, LaunchPAD Leadership Academy, Mahari Takai Brand, and Colin Allred for Texas.

Mo Goodas Italian Ice was provided by Reliant. 

Special thanks to our volunteers for their time and dedication to serving the community!

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2024 MLK Back to School Festival (Event Recap)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hosted its annual MLK Back to School Festival, an event for students and families to receive free backpacks, school supplies, and other essential items for the new school year.

More than 30 community partners participated in the drive-through festival, distributing supplies to 350+ families and 1,542 students. 

Community Partners included LIRA Group; HELP; Peter & Dena Silberman; The Richards Group; Empowering the Masses; Cummins; Enterprise; SubroSmart; The IDK Foundation; Reliant NRG; City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability; CBRE; City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative; City of Dallas Office of Community Police Oversight; MLK, Jr. Branch Library; Dallas Park & Recreation; Atmos Energy; Miles of Freedom; In the City For Good; The Family Place; Encore; DFW Alliance of Black Accountants; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha Sigma Lambda Chapter); Queen Nefertari #1 Order of the Eastern Star; State Fair of Texas; C5; Benchmark Bank; White Harvest Foundation; Dallas College; Empowerment Services; and Texas Freedom Network. Kona Ice was provided by Reliant. 

Special thanks to our volunteers for their time and dedication to serving the community!

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MLK Back to School Festival (Event Recap)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events

On Saturday, August 12, 2023, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hosted its Annual MLK Back to School Festival which is an event for students and families to receive free backpacks, school supplies, and other essential items for the new school year.

Over 30 community partners participated in the festival, distributing supplies to nearly 1000+ students and families.

Community Partners included LIRA Group; Peter & Dena Silberman; The Richards Group; HELP; Colliers; Enterprise Philanthropy; Bautista Family Cares, LLC; SubroSmart; The IDK Foundation; Reliant NRG; Dental Arcade; Lion of Judah Montessori Private School; Amazon; City of Dallas Office of Community Outreach and Marketing; South Dallas Community Court; Seasons of Change, Inc.; AAA Texas; In-N-Out Burger; City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability; CBRE Black Excellence DFW Chapter; Moss Heating & Cooling; Macy’s; KIPP Texas Public Schools; City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative; MLK, Jr. Branch Library; Atmos Energy; Miles of Freedom; Carter’s House; Fundbox; DFW Alliance of Black Accountants; Rolex; Celebration Station; Green Careers Dallas; Abide Women’s Health Services; Foremost Family Health Center; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha Sigma Lambda Chapter); and McDonalds of North Texas.

In-N-Out was provided by Dallas Park and Recreation. Music was provided by DJ Trikky. 

Special thanks to our volunteers for their time and dedication to serving the community!

Event Preparation with Enterprise Volunteers (8-4-2023)

 

Event Day (8-12-2023)

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2022 MLK Back to School Festival (Event Recap)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events

On Saturday, August 13, 2022, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hosted its annual MLK Back to School Festival, an event for students and families to receive free backpacks, school supplies, and other essential items for the new school year. More than 25 community partners participated in the drive-through event, distributing supplies to nearly 1400 students and 350 families.

Community Partners included HELP, Miles of Freedom, Carter’s House, Peter & Dena Silberman, LIRA, Encore, KIPP Texas, Humana, DART Silver Line Regional Rail Project, Trinity Basin Preparatory, Dallas Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Smile Magic Family Dental, Reliant NRG, Dallas National Association of Black Accountants, Inc., Dallas County Democratic Party, Community Council of Greater Dallas, Foremost Family Health Centers, Dallas Public Library, Dallas Park & Recreation, The Richards Group, MLK ChildCareGroup, City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative, Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, Dallas Water Utilities Defend Your Drains, South Dallas Community Court, Fastell Girl Model2Mentor Program, Green Careers Dallas, Benchmark Bank, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Capital One, Amazon, American Bank, Abide Women’s Health Services, Austin Street Center, Devin Robinson, and J’La Dade.

Kona Ice was provided by Reliant NRG. Music was provided by DJ Trikky. 

Special thank to our volunteers for their time and dedication to serve the community!

Event Preparation!

Event Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2021 MLK Back to School Drive-Thru Festival (Event Recap)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events

On Saturday, August 14, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center celebrated its annual MLK Back to School Festival with a drive-through event for families and students to get free backpacks, school supplies, and more to prepare for the new school year.

Our volunteers and Community Partners distributed more than 1,200 backpacks with school supplies, bags with nonperishable food items, household cleaning products, hot dogs, soda, snow cones, and more.

Our Community Partners included National Association of Black Accountants, MLK ChildCareGroup, Harambee Steering Committee, Abide Women’s Health Services, The Richards Group, Dallas Museum of Art, Foremost Family Health Center, South Dallas Community Court, City of Dallas Environmental Quality & Sustainability, City of Dallas Environmental Education & Initiative, Trinity Basin School, Dallas Rape Crisis, MLK Branch Library, Morales Group, KIPP: Texas Public School, Accident & Injury Chiropractic, Reliant NRG with Kona Ice, Maximus, and the Dallas Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

This event was sponsored in part by LIRA Group, Peter & Dena Silberman, and the City of Dallas.

Additional donations and special contributions came from Capital One, APL Logistics, Dallas Mavericks, Carter’s House, Funky Town Fridge, Encore Global, Enterprise Foundation, IKEA, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Kappa Zeta Chapter, DART, Project Unity, Stork’s Nest Charity Fund of Dallas, Brian Eberstein, Miles of Freedom, In the City For Good, and the AT&T NTX Ran Construction Team.

Special thanks to everyone who donated supplies and volunteered their time to ensure we had a successful event!

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Videos

Videos provided by Elaine Sacks, MLK Advisory Board (District 1)

 

2020 MLK Back to School Drive-Thru Festival (Recap & Photos)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events, Information

The MLK Back to School Drive-Thru Festival was a free event for students of all ages and their families to assist with getting essential items for the upcoming school year.

On Friday, August 14, attendees drove through the MLK, Jr. Community Center’s parking lot to pick up free backpacks, school supplies, t-shirts, underwear, socks, and more to prepare for the new school year. 

This year’s sponsors and partners included In the City for Good, LIRA, Reliant Energy, Carter’s House, North Texas Food Bank, State Fair of Texas, Peter and Dena Silberman, Terris Perkins, Jr., and the Gold Experience.

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MLK Back to School Festival

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Events, Information ,

The MLK Back to School Festival is a “one-stop-shop” for parents and students preparing for the new school year. On Friday, August 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., families can come to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 MLK Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75215) and receive free school supplies, backpacks, uniforms, shoes, and more. There will also be vendors, a children’s play area, free food, and snow cones.

This event is open to all families with children in grades Pre-K to 12. Parents must provide a photo ID and children must be present to receive supplies. There are no zip code restrictions or income requirements to receive supplies.

When: Friday, August 16, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, located at 2922 MLK Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75215. 

Who: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hosts this annual event. This year’s sponsors include the City of Dallas, Miles of Freedom, Carter’s House, Capital One, Reliant Energy, Turning Paiges, and Panda Cares. If you are interested in becoming a vendor or sponsor, please call 214-670-8418 or visit www.dallasmlkcenter.com/back-to-school.