A local church wants to help students and parents prepare for a safe start to school.
God’s Way Christian Baptist Church will host its annual Panorama Back to School event Saturday, Aug. 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the church, 1101 W. Second St. in Taylor.
“It’s a back-to-school program for the youth, where we will talk to them about safety, shooting, gun violence, domestic violence and things like that,” said Pastor Billy Ray Reese. “We’ll talk to them about being safe at home and being able to go back to school dealing with trauma.”
The church is partnering with Taylor ISD, the city of Taylor, Taylor Police Department and other churches and organizations.
“We are stronger together. Everyone can see this is a more inclusive way reaching the kids,” said Reese. “Our challenge is to meet the needs of our youth and to assist them to meet the challenges of the new school year.”
During the event, there will be a school supply giveaway in addition to helpful information. Reese said the recent school shootings may have traumatized some students and even made some scared to go back to school.
“They need to address some of these issues and know some of the safety concerns have been taken care of before they go back to school,” said Reese.
Students will have an opportunity to meet and greet police officers, firefighters, city leaders and teachers.
“It’s kind of a calming tool so that students will feel safe back in the school environment,” he said.
The event has previously been held at the church over the past few years. Reese said the program is not just for students, but for parents as well.
“It’s going to give parents information about how to address issues around violence, crisis and trauma,” he said.
He referred to the shooting at a Uvalde elementary school May 24 and said there are students in Taylor talking about it.
“When those kids have questions, parents need to know how to address these youth in order to give them a good answer so they are not stressing over these problems.”
The event is free and open to the community.
