Members of the Just Kings Social Club gave back to their community on Saturday, handing out dozens of school backpacks, and other school supplies along with free hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken at Austin Park.
There were also free haircuts from the Royals Barbershop for kids getting ready to go back to school.
Just Kings member Victor Thomas explained that the leadership of Just Kings are men who grew up in Batavia and have been part of the community their whole lives, so one of the organization's goals is to give back to their community.
Just Kings grew out of the March for Justice in Batavia in June 2020.
The people showing up for the supplies and food made up a diverse cross-section of Batavia's community, and Thomas said he and the rest of Just Kings like to see that.
"That was a visual of what Batavia represented and what we represent," Thomas said. "That day, at that march, we saw 400-plus people and only a handful of us. We're just all mixed in with each other, you know? So we're a product of our environment. Yes, we are here for the black community and the black community knows that. We stand up for them whenever we can. We speak out against anything that's happened against our people. But as far as the community goes, this is what our community looks like. So we have to embrace what our community looks like. So I'm glad that they're embracing us and coming back and making this crowd look so diverse today."
