“Ali and Gracie’s Back to School Bash” a Big Success

By Victoria Shawgo

On Saturday, August 5, Gracie Martinez of Outback Steakhouse and Ali Sobh of Hungry Howie’s partnered with Michelle Valdes and Operation Paying It Forward to host the first annual “Ali and Gracie’s Back to School Bash.” The fun, family-oriented event provided backpacks and school supplies to children getting ready to start the school year. Golden Era Barbershop offered free haircuts, and pizza, chips, hot dogs, and ice cream were served for lunch. A live DJ, bounce houses, and snow cones lent a celebratory tone to the atmosphere. The icing on the cake was a special guest appearance by six-time female World Boxing Champion Chevelle Hallback, a.k.a Fist of Steel.

The event was first conceived by Martinez, a 26-year-old Plant City native who is a manager at Outback Steakhouse and volunteers with the Plant City Police Department and Relay for Life. Martinez reached out to Ali Sobh, owner and operator of Plant City’s Hungry Howie’s Pizza, because he also has a heart for positively impacting the community.

“We both do a lot of things in the community,” Martinez shared. “So we just got together and wanted to throw a Back to School bash that benefited Plant City.”

All of the supplies given out during the event were donated from within the community. A School Supply Drive was hosted at Outback, where regulars and non-regulars alike brought supplies in return for raffle tickets, which entered patrons into a drawing to receive one of many raffle baskets donated by local businesses.

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and saw over 400 children come through the doors.

“We did not expect this turnout at all,” remarked Martinez. “After only an hour in, we ran out of school supplies despite having a lot.”

To say it was a success would be an understatement. Sobh and Martinez plan to make the event an annual affair and also hope to add other events in the future.

”We’re definitely excited,” Martinez continued. “We’re going to plan some events for the rest of the year as well, but this is our first big one together, and we’re going to continue to do it from there.”

The event was put on in association with Operation Paying It Forward, which exists to “make a difference in people’s lives and show appreciation to those around us.” To learn more about volunteering to make an impact in the local community, visit their website at operationpayingitforward.com.