As the summer begins to wind down, both faculty and students across the county are preparing to return to school. Head out this weekend to Clarkton and Chadbourn to equip your little ones with what they need for the year ahead. Be sure log onto www.columbuscountynews.com for absolutely free to catch up on any news you’ve missed this week. Get your news delivered every morning to your inbox before your coffee ever hits your cup by signing up for our daily newsletter. 
The Change Brings Choices will hold their sixth annual backpack drive on Saturday, July 29, from 12-3 p.m. at 137 Jenkins Road in Clarkton. All ages are welcome to enjoy bouncy house water slides, food, music, and a school supplies giveaway. Senior citizen plates will also be available for pick up at the event. If you have any questions, contact Glenwood Davis at 910.840.1208. 
The H.E.A.R.T.S. Foundation will also be having their back-to-school supply drive on July 29. The organization will be set up at 116 Miller Street in Chadbourn from 3-5 p.m. Contact Larry Everette Jr at 910.733.3375 for more information.
The Veterans Memorial Park of America benefit will be on Saturday, July 29, at Cruzer’s Drive Thru. Xtreme Kustoms Car Club and other sponsors will be putting on a car show for the park. Registrations will be from 9 – 11 a.m., and the show will be from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Judging is set to be completed by 12:30 p.m. with awards handed out at 2:30 p.m. Door prizes will be given out throughout the event. The registration fee is $15, and if you would like to do so ahead of time, you can pre-register by calling 910.918.2501. The rain date for the car show is Aug. 5. An administrator for the VMPA will be set up to receive proceeds and to collect any donations made to the park.
Abundant Life Assembly of God will be having a benefit for McMullen House for Heroes. The church will be hosting an outdoor movie night on July 29 beginning at 7:30 p.m., and the feature film will be the Disney classic Lady and the Tramp. Admission is free, and concessions will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the concession sales will go to McMullen House. The movie will begin at 8:30 p.m. Abundant Life is located at 5384 James B. White Highway South in Whiteville.
The Waccamaw Siouan tribe will be hosting a summer bash tomorrow, July 29, from 3-8 p.m. Activities will include water slides, a toddler area, basketball court, playground, and a kickball game at 6:30 p.m. Bring your appetite and your lawn chair. This free event will take place at the tribal grounds located at 7239 Old Lake Road in Buckhead.
Saturday, the town of Fair Bluff will be hosting their annual Watermelon Festival. There will be entertainment throughout the day beginning at 8:55 a.m. with opening ceremonies. The watermelon weigh-in awards will be at 10 a.m., followed by the adult and youth watermelon eating contest at 10:30 a.m., the parade at 12:30 p.m., and the famous fundraising Duck Race on the Lumber River at 2:30 p.m. The street dance will begin at 7 p.m. that evening. All activities are centered around Riverside Drive downtown at the riverfront.
Shizzy’s Wildcat Rescue in Fair Bluff will have one more workday this month on July 29 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. You must be 18 years old or older to use tools and climb ladders. If you would like to volunteer at Shizzy’s Wildcat Rescue, find out more information, make a donation, or become a sponsor, you can contact Rhonda Billeaud, co-chairman for Shizzy’s, by phone at 910.840.1886. You can also send her an email at rhondabilleaud@shizzyswildcatrescue.org. The full summer schedule for Shizzy’s can be found here.
The Lakeside Ministry will run every Sunday through Labor Day at 9 a.m. at the Lake Waccamaw campground pavilion. This Sunday, July 30, the speaker will be Luiz Martinez.
The Whiteville Police Department is hosting National Night Out on Aug. 1 from 6-9 p.m. in the City Hall parking lot. The evening will include music, games, entertainment, and food. Local fire and rescue departments will also have emergency vehicles on display. Whiteville City Hall is located at 317 South Madison Street.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer and more caring places to live. The event enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. It also provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
The Sheepdog Foundation will be having a lunch plate sale on Friday, Aug. 9, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. with the pop-up Reggae Café. The fundraiser will directly assist in kicking off the organization’s youth mentorship program called Hard Chargers. Sheepdog will be serving up Jamaican curried chicken, rice and peas, steamed cabbage, and plantains for $10 a meal. They will also have a traditional Jamaican infused drink up for grabs for $2. Hang out and get your grub on at the café while you listen to some smooth Reggae tunes with WTXY Kool 103.9 FM. The event will take place at 1017 South Madison Street in Whiteville.
The Bladen County Public Library will host a supply giveaway on Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. at the branch. The drive is for youngsters in grade K-12, and the children must be in attendance to get supplies. The library is located at 111 North Cypress Street in Elizabethtown.
Brown Street Station in Chadbourn will also be open every second Saturday of the month for the Main Street Market. Live entertainment and vendors will be there from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the public to enjoy. The next selling day will be Aug. 12. The venue is located at 202 North Brown Street. For more information about vendors opportunities, call 910.477.8080.
Mt. Sinai Holiness Church will be holding Back-to-School Fun Day on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 4-7 p.m. There will be lots of games, kiddie pools, waterslides, shaved ice, and food at the free events. The church can be found at 6690 Old Lake Road in Bolton.
The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher and N.C. Sea Grant will be hosting the Aquatic Wild workshop on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Participants in the 6-hour workshop will receive one criteria credit with the Aquatic K-12 Curriculum and an activity guide. The guide contains field investigations, In Step with STEM activity extensions, connections to wildlife careers, new activities on fish conservation and angling, and an increased focus on outdoor activities. Project Wild materials will be provided free of charge by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. If interested, contact Gail Lemiec at 910.772.0500 or Erika Young at 919.513.1145. The aquarium is located at 900 Loggerhead Road in Kure Beach.
The town of Bolton will have Community Day on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Goshen Medical Center. Free school supplies will be given away to the first 100 kids, and there will be free sports exams, cardiac screenings, and much more. Goshen is located at 213 Ninth Street in Bolton.
As schools across Columbus County ramp up to open their doors for the 2023-2024 academic year, the Columbus Baptist Association is putting out a call to volunteers to help with the Backpack Buddies ministry. The first packing party will be on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. The purpose of the ministry is to help feed at risk children over the weekend who may not have a meal again until they return to school on Monday. The backpacks are sent home on Friday afternoons with the kids. The event will be held at the CBA located at 208 South Thompson Street in Whiteville. Backpacking parties are held each month during the school year.
For folks who pre-ordered a commemorative brick from the old Tabor City High School, those items can now be picked up from the Greater Tabor City Chamber of Commerce. They are still taking orders for those interested, and the bricks are 1 for $25 or 2 for $40. Call 910.377.3012 for more information.
The GOOD NEWS is featured every Saturday morning on WTXY Kool 103.9 FM, and throughout the week under the GOOD NEWS tab at columbuscountynews.com. Email crystalfaircloth@columbuscounty.news with your church announcements, fundraisers, yard sales, club news, community celebrations, or just plain happy stories. There is no charge for publicizing your events.
