Friday night, 1,500 people from the community came together for a common cause — to make sure children heading back to school this year had all the supplies they needed.

It’s an event that has been happening for more than 20 years, and it’s a mission that lives on thanks to many dedicated volunteers and donors who make it possible.

Parents and students could learn more about resources in the community while also picking up some back-to-school items for free such as pencils, folders, backpacks and more. The community donates the items to help students start the new school year.

Children could also play on the bounce houses, laser tag and more.

Some attendees stuck around for Moonlight Movies which featured “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.”

The Clark County Family Resource Centers and Youth Services Centers of Clark County Public Schools, with support from Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Winchester and Clark County agencies, businesses, churches and residents, sponsor the event, according to a news release.

It truly takes the whole community to make an event like this successful, let alone to allow it to thrive for more than two decades.

It is incredible to think about the number of local students who have been positively impacted by the annual Readifest events.

It’s been exciting to see the event evolve over the years, to partner with Moonlight Movie Nights and to continue to grow each year to include more and more sponsors and donors. All that added support means more and more children will get the school supplies they need.

Each year as students head back to school, parents head back into stress mode and many will wonder where they will get the money to make sure their little ones can have the supplies they need.

On average, parents spend hundreds of dollars on back-to-school shopping, and events like Readifest lessen the burden for hundreds of families in need each year.

We are thankful to have been part of the event this year and to see the impact firsthand.

We are most grateful for the many volunteers and donors who make the event possible.