The room resembled a boutique, with racks and tables of clothes, shoes and accessories. Many of the clothes had dangling price tags, signifying their unworn status, and many showed signs of barely being worn.
    But the difference at this “clothing store” was that the customers snaking in a line around the building before the doors were unlocked wouldn’t need wallets to take home much-needed, back-to-school clothing for their school-aged boys and girls.
    The Back to School Extravaganza, held Saturday, Aug. 3, was hosted by the Outreach Ministry of Original First African Baptist Church.
    “We knew that many churches and organizations were helping students in need with backpacks and school supplies, so we decided to do something that would help parents provide new school clothes for their kids,” said Evangelist Juanita Allen, the outreach ministry pastor and a retired Bulloch County educator.
    Members of the church collected and purchased clothing items, then organized and displayed them in the Jones-Love Cultural Center in preparation for the event.
    Smiles abounded throughout the morning. Outreach Ministry members warmly welcomed attendees. Parents smiled and verbally expressed their appreciation for the church’s compassion, and children with faces of all shades and sizes conveyed their gratitude with ear-to-ear grins.
    Several hundred people attended the event. Although it was billed as a back-to-school event, clothing was available for newborns to senior citizens.
    “One of our main focuses is to look after the poor and the elderly,” said church member Carolyn Milton, another retired Bulloch County educator. “Our pastor, Rev. Frankie L. Owens, often preaches about love through service and caring for one another.
    “We’re aware that there are families that are less fortunate than others,” she continued, “and some are without jobs in this difficult economy, and they don’t have funds for school clothes. And this is our way of outreach.”
    Milton said the group was especially pleased to see a variety of ethnic groups represented during the event, giving them the feeling that they were touching lives across the entire community.
    “We wanted to reach those that may have fallen through the cracks, those that may not receive help from other services,” she said.
    One participant, Christy Wilkerson, selected clothes for her children, who attend Mattie Lively Elementary School, and her sister’s children, students at Langston Chapel Elementary and Middle schools.
    “It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Wilkerson said. “It really benefited my sister and me.”
    With 10 children between the two families, Wilkerson said that, recently, they have not been able to make ends meet, and the kids really needed new clothes.
    In order to assure that many families could benefit, those selecting clothes were limited to a certain number of articles per child but were invited to return at the end of the event to select from the remaining items.
    Many did return, according to Milton, and chose additional items. The goal, said Milton, was not to have clothing left over. The few items that remained were donated to Safe Haven, which serves victims of domestic violence and their children.