HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Just over a week away from the first day of school in Hillsborough County, dozens of military families were treated to MacDill Air Force Base's annual back-to-school event.
"It also just lets us feel like we're not alone and that we can just kind of have the help if we need it. I mean, four kids, you need as much help as you can get," says Davida Johnson, a member of the U.S. Air Force.
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Blue Star Families helped organize this year's event with dozens of sponsors and over 1200 backpacks to give out, for free.
"It's a blessing to have the support here and everything that they have to offer," says Dwayne Johnson, Davida's husband and also a member of the USAF.
Dozens of volunteers also showed up to make sure the event went off without a hitch.
"We can't do this without them. As you know, nonprofits, we rely on our community to help support us. And the base relies on our community to help support them, and it's a great relationship that we all have here," says Suzy Malloy, program director for Blue Star Families in Tampa.
It's been one year since Hurricane Milton impacted our community. Tampa Bay 28 revisited some of Tampa Bay's hardest hit areas to show the recovery and the work that still needs to be done.
