On Saturday, Aug. 6, downtown Ironton will be lined with school children getting this year’s backpacks thanks to the annual Tools 4 School.

Under a tent set up on Center Street starting at 10 a.m., students from pre-K to high school will pick out the bags filled with all the tools they will need to start the school year.

The event started in 2005 and since then 19,000 backpacks have been given away.

“We started out very small doing this,” Hazel Jacob, an organizer from St. Paul Lutheran Church, said.

Then the church sponsored a rummage giveaway where people could have a variety of free items.

“People were asking for school supplies,” Jacob said. “Several people in the congregation were teachers and it was like a light bulb going off.”

Then All-Saints Lutheran in Worthington heard about the giveaway and wanted to contribute. Now the Worthington congregation contributes half of the bags given away.

Any bags left over are taken to schools and the health department for any of their clients.

“It is a win-win,” Jacob said.

At the same time of the giveaway is a summer festival put on by First United Methodist Church.

“There will be inflatables, free hot dogs and free drinks,” she said. “We have volunteers who do face painting and balloon animals. There is a lot of fun.”