As classes started throughout the Elkhart area on Tuesday, thousands of needy students were able to begin the new year armed with fresh supplies, new backpacks, and newly coiffed hair--in a kick off orchestrated by a dozen organizations and scores of volunteers.

A line that stretched four blocks--some 5,500 people in total reportedly attended the Back-2-School Unity Festival at a local high school on Saturday, to take part in the charity event put on by local government departments, nonprofits, and churches. Organizers estimated that about 10 percent of Elkhart's population was served in the six hours of the festival.

As an editorial in Tuesday's Elkhart Truth put it, the first-time event "continues to show how this community can rally together to help its own."

J. Tyler Klassen / Elkhart Truth

Rayona Cross (right) picks out a school backpack at the Back-2-School Unity Festival in Elkhart on Saturday. Cross, an eighth grader is one of several thousand students who received donated school supplies and other assistance.