Students young and old lined up Saturday afternoon for food and school supplies at the third annual Annie Lois McNabb Back to School Event at Murphree Park.

Siblings David McNabb and Vachon McNabb-Watts and their families teamed up with Dollar General and Food World to put on the event to hand out school supplies for the upcoming school year.

“There is nothing like giving back to the community,” David McNabb said. “Our mother did so much for the children in this community. We are so glad we had the turnout that we did. We are going to keep doing this, and we are going to keep striving for perfection.”

The main goal for he McNabb family on Saturday was to give back to the community and shift focus back to education and away from violence.

“We want the children to become more educated,” McNabb said. “We want to get the communities back together. This is the third year we have done this, and it gets bigger every year.”

Continuing their mother’s dream of helping the community has been at the forefront of the McNabb family’s minds ever since her passing in 2012. Seeing the smiles of young students and knowing they are making their mother proud is something for them to be proud of.

“She passed in 2012, and this has been a very rewarding experience to come out and give back to the community that has given us so much,” Mcnabb-Watts said. “Something our mother taught us is to always give back.”

Anna Lois McNabb was a political activist in her community and worked hard for the youth at the First Missionary Baptist Church. Her example is what stuck with the entire McNabb family.”

As well as food and drinks for all the participants, each child received paper, crayons, pens and pencils to get them started for the upcoming school year.

As well as every child receiving snacks and school supplies, a select few were rewarded with door prizes that consisted of book bags and drawstring bags. All the door prizes were purchased by the McNabb family.

“It was so great; I am so happy we were able to be a part of this event,” said parent Joe King. “They got pencils, paper and other supplies, and we are just so thankful for it. We are originally from Florida, and we heard about the event. We will be back next year.”

The students were gifted with a lot of things to take with them for the upcoming school year, but the McNabb’s hope they take with them a lot more.

“We want to show them how to give back, so when they grow up they can do something like this,” McNabb-Watts said. “We want them to be better when they do this. I firmly believe that it takes a community to do something like this.”

The Back to School Event had gained a lot of support from the community, but stores like Dollar General and Food World helped the McNabb’s with the items needed to host the event.

“We really appreciate all of their help. They were big assets to us,” McNabb said. “It’s all about showing love and helping the community.”