By Xennia Hamilton for The LA Sentinel
Originally published July 15, 2026
It’s Bigger Than Us (IBTU) will host its seventh annual Back 2 School Festival on Saturday, August 1, from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m, at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall.
“The Back 2 School Festival came about during the pandemic where we supported Crenshaw High School with backpacks and resources, and just kind of continued doing that every year. It moved from Crenshaw, then eventually moved to where we provided school supplies and resources,” explained Tyrone Nance, IBTU founder and CEO.
“It grew from five schools in South LA, like Audubon [Middle School] and Hillcrest [Elementary School] and Angeles Mesa [High School], Crenshaw [High School], and Dorsey [High School] to 25 schools the following year. From there it just kept growing, but one thing that has always been consistent is our investment in South Central.”
IBTU’s mission is to build trusted, place-based programs that support youth, families, and neighborhoods through education, health access, and crisis response; designed with dignity, informed by community, and built to last. A Crenshaw High School alumnus, Nance feels and knows that many parents in South Los Angeles need assistance with the school year as well.
“Really, the underlying theme is really serving our community, listening to our community, and being with our community,” he said.
“So, backpacks are just an opportunity to be able to provide the resources. We have vendors and elected officials, partners, volunteers, families, and free resources. It is just a wonderful opportunity.”
The Back 2 School Festival will feature various activities and games as well as vital information for many participants to use.
“We’ll have 1500 fully loaded backpacks, live entertainment, Compton Divas, and drummers. There will be a performance by Destiny Imani, she’s going to have a song called ‘Graduation,’ and then we’re going to have another youth performance,” he described. “There’ll be free haircuts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There’ll be tech zones for the youth [and] healthcare providers.”
Nance continued, “This year’s event is going to be co-hosted by our board member Roscii Woolley, founder and CEO of The Source LA; and also, Ray Cunningham, a HBCU alumnus, TV celebrity, and philanthropist.
“These are people that advocate for our communities on a regular basis. There’ll be raffles every 45 minutes. We’ll be raffling off a gaming chair as well as a gaming screen, valued at thousands of dollars. There’ll be a Know Your Rights and voter engagement tables at the event.”
The organization, which has a hub based in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, also assists those who were impacted by the Altadena Wildfires of last year.
“Our building at the mall is a permanent fire relief hub [where] we serve the Altadena community,” he explained.
“We have a lot of Altadena people that come, shop, get resources, food, clothes, and brand-new clothes.” The group also works with LAUSD, Green Dot, and Alliance.
Nance added that the event will not only help the students and parents of South LA, but that it will bring the community closer together also.
“It’s sort of like a check in. The gaps between the have and have nots are just widening, and oftentimes we are able to come together in specific silos,” he said. “But this event is an opportunity for us to come together collectively like a city united and so it’s important to check in with people, and to connect. It’s Bigger Than Us — we want to hear about the challenges that people are facing, so that way we can continue to do our job to provide the best solutions,” Nance said.
With the event, Nance is hoping that the students especially take away a sense of confidence and pride in themselves, their future and their education.
“I hope kids can be inspired. This is a safe, fun family friendly event full of networking and resource opportunities, so I just want the community to be able to come out, get what they need,” he said.
“For me, my favorite part is always meeting the kiddos and giving them my business cards, and I’m like, ‘as you get older, make sure you hit me up for an internship, or you have any questions, or you want me to come to your school and talk,’ or always try to find special moments to engage with the youth and also the parents.”
For more information or to register for the event, visit eventbrite.com, keyword:IBTU 7th Annual Back 2 School Festival: Baldwin Hills Crenshaw