Saturday’s Back to School Bash proved to be an effective tool in reaching Selma’s young people and their parents.

The event, organizer and Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator Joslyn Reddick said, actually surpassed her expectations.

“We have had tremendous turnout,” she said. “We planned for 700, expected 200 and we have around 400. We are very enthused and excited about the turnout today.”

Throughout the morning, children and parents sat in on informational classes dealing with gang awareness, sexting, cyber-bullying, fire safety, HIV awareness, and a class called Parenting 101.

There were also sessions where participants rapped in role-play to teach them how to interact with each other.

The program, Reddick said, took lots of careful planning to get off the ground and has seen its share of challenges..

“My first year I formed an advisory committee, which is part of the regulations for Title IV, and we began to work,” she said. “Last year the federal government stopped funding for this program, but I wrote and asked if we could carry some of the money over to continue some of the work we did last year.”

To make the program more effective, Reddick said she wanted to expand the reach.

“This year we worked within the schools,” she said. “But this year we wanted to take it into the community as well as the schools.”

Despite the challenges with funding, Reddick said they will continue the program for years to come. She said she has been working with Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce director Sheryl Smedley to seek support.

A number of people have already committed to backing the program.

“They are all committed to continuing this program,” she said.