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After a successful community barbecue last month, a new community organization will be hosting another event for kids and families this weekend.
NextGen's Back to School Bash will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oleson Park. The free community event will feature a hot dog lunch while supplies last, as well as music, yard games, door prizes and a foam party. The park's playground and splash pad will also be open.
NextGen is a community organization with about 15 members who work with local at-risk youth in many capacities. It was created in May in response to multiple acts of gun violence that left two 18-year-old men dead. The members came together in search of tangible solutions to help break the cycle of violence and empower the youth of Fort Dodge.
The group's first outreach event was the barbecue on July 8 and Paige Williams, one of the founders of NextGen, said there was an "amazing turnout."
"We handed out about 200 pork loin sandwiches and were fortunate enough to have about 15 volunteers to come out and help," she said. "It was super cool to see the kids start a pick-up game of football and the amount of families that made it out was wonderful."
NextGen will have some bicycles and bookbags with school supplies that were donated by people in the community to give out on Saturday, Williams said.
"We are hoping to have an even better turnout and get the kids excited about heading back to school with a final summer event," she said.