Local law enforcement and Bowling Green church host back to school block party

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Mount Zion Baptist Church and the Bowling Green Police Department teamed up over the weekend to host a back to school block party.

The event was put together to help the kids in the community to receive what they need for school to start back up so kids were given backpacks filled with supplies.

The event also included free food, music, food trucks, vendors and more.

The block party even had a giveaway of four Chromebooks, bicycles and gift cards.

According to both church representatives and police, the event was a great opportunity to serve and interact with the community.

“(BGPD Police Chief Michael Delaney and I had a conversation for months before this came about. The idea was to get our communities together because they are not just our officers, they are our neighbors. They are friends. They are our our community,” said Johnalma Barnett, Mount Zion Baptist Church.

“We’re here because we are part of the community. We want to be another extension of service for the community and want people to know that they can talk to us, come up to us, anything, we are here for them and this is a great opportunity for us to partner with Mount Zion Church to show that that’s what we’re here for,” said Delaney.

Retired Officer Jan Tuttle was also honored at the event after he has recently retired and worked mainly the area around the church for several years.