The community of Dowagiac is invited to celebrate the grand opening of the Stones Throw Soup Kitchen with a Back-to-School Carnival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at The Stepping Stone community center, 214 Miller St., Dowagiac.

Along with typical carnival games, school-aged boys will be able to get a free back-to-school haircut from one of the barbers that will be on location, and girls can get their nails painted.

A free hotdog and chips lunch will be provided to all children 12 and under, and plates of food will available for a monetary donation. All proceeds from the carnival will benefit the soup kitchen, and The Stepping Stone mission.

The Stones Throw Soup Kitchen is a project that The Stepping Stone community outreach group’s Executive Director Tyree Blackamore has been working on bringing to the community. Once the former dinner/lunch counter-turned-soup-kitchen is fully operational, the hope is to have it open to the community five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Stepping Stone group meets once a week at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in the community center.

“We allow the community to tell us what they need, the type of programs they would like to see and any issues they may be having,” Blackamore said.

Blackamore said the mission of the program is to serve the community through educational advancement, job creation, community beautification, mentoring and counseling.

“The need for a program like this,” Blackamore said, is what drove him to get involved in The Stepping Stone.

The Dowagiac Union High School graduate returned to his hometown after studying at Michigan State University, and wants nothing more than to help the people in his community.

“I just want to see Dowagiac do well,” he said.

The Stepping Stone programs include taking middle school and high school students to college campuses, a computer room that is open to the public for job searches or school projects and a community outreach initiative that aims to help citizens not otherwise able to make repairs on their homes or properties.

The programs are all funded by donations. Anyone wanting to get involved with the carnival or the mission, can contact Blackamore at the Miller Street location, or through the website thesteppingstoneback2basics.com.