An Editorial Opinion of The Luverne Journal

Students and families are preparing for their return to the classroom. Crenshaw County Public Schools begin the school year Aug. 8 and Crenshaw Christian Academy welcomes students to their first day of school Aug. 7, kicking off the flurry of academic and extracurricular activities that accompany each school year.

Community members have stepped up and shown off recently, with a host of back-to-school events aimed to help families celebrate the closing of the summer season and launch the school year prepared to face the challenges of classroom learning.

The Alabama-Crenshaw Baptist Association invited community members to its annual Back to School Prayer Walk that was held Aug. 4, where citizens can gather together to pray for schools’ students, teachers, parents and support staff, or walk across cover to focus classrooms, facilities or even individual desks with prayer for the challenges of the new school year.

One local event, a Back to School Bash sponsored by The Community Youth Association, was a free event aimed at ushering singing in the school year with a fun, faith event. Complete with hot dogs, live music and guest speaker Mitchell Dean, the annual bash was held Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Hank Williams Park in Georgiana.

Bealls, one of Greenville’s newest retail stores, sponsored a school supply collection box. The effort is an example of the many ways businesses partner with citizens to help local children.

Up the interstate, the Fort Deposit Police Department hosted a community event Saturday with games, food and school supply giveaways. The bash was one of several held throughout Lowndes County, representing the care with which small-town communities nurture children and families.

Each effort, from small to great, is important. Whether by donating pencils and notebooks, grilling hotdogs for a crowd or offering a silent prayer for schools, our communities care for children and nurture learning opportunities through their thoughtfulness.

We applaud the people working hard to show children that they matter in their communities. For those who have not yet engaged, we encourage them to seek out ways to join the effort. By doing so, you can become a part of one of the many aspects of small-town life that stands out across Alabama.