AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – If you haven’t finished back-to-school shopping, this weekend would be the time to do it.

While many South Carolina stores will be filled with shoppers, we can’t forget about the local organizations holding back-to-school drives for families who may need a little support.

Clothes, backpacks, pens, pencils, paper, shoes and even haircuts can all add up.

We spoke with one group working to lessen the financial stress as kids head back to the classroom.

The Augusta Dream Center is a non-profit organization that works to help underserved communities in the CSRA.

“A lot of people were finding themselves without childcare, without food resources, availability to get to where the resources were. So, it was very important to us to have this location in south Augusta to be present with the people who seem to need it the most,” said Meagan Slusser, missions pastor at Stevens Creek Church.

They provide food, clothes, health care resources, an adult computer literacy course and a hot meal every Sunday to those who need it.

Fundraising Coordinator Hallie Dickens said: “We’re seeing upwards to 250-350 families weekly. This is not people just families, so when it comes to people over the last 12 months. We’ve impacted over 30,000 people with just feeding alone.”

The Dream Center is now gearing up to help even more people on Saturday through what they call Serve Day.

They’ll be providing free haircuts, clothes, shoes, dental screenings and backpacks filled with supplies.

Slusser said: “So, if there are multiple colors or styles, they get to pick from them and really make it personal, and that just changes a kid’s world for starting out school and gives them the confidence they probably need to let them know they can do it this year, you can get through it.”

Slusser says events like this happen because of the community.

“Many companies have chipped in, and many churches have chipped in, and we love to see that grow. We never want it to be one name that’s championed, but the whole community coming together to serve our people,” she said.

To learn more about the Augusta Dream Center, visit https://www.augustadreamcenter.org/.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University has been updating and improving a lot of its athletic facilities. 

On Thursday afternoon, they shared their plans to build a new baseball stadium. 

The new Jaguar Field will include new bleachers right behind home plate with 420 seats and handicapped seating, an expansion of the current concessions stand area and a new state-of-the-art press box. 

Jaguar Field will also be getting a new scoreboard with a video display. 

Fans will be able to see a live feed, instant replays, stats and everything in between. 

The project is expected to be ready in time for the Jags 2025 season. 

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia ranks No. 4 in the country for states with the most polite drivers, according to a Forbes Advisor survey.

The percentage of drivers in Georgia who have been threatened, yelled at or insulted by another driver is 18.5%, the second lowest in the country, the report found. It also noted that 26% of Georgia drivers have been blocked from merging or changing lanes, which is the fifth-lowest percentage nationwide.

Across the Savannah River, South Carolina ranks 40th, with 65% of drivers saying another driver has exited their vehicle to yell or fight with them and 7% reporting they get road rage from other drivers very frequently.

Along with Georgia, the top five states with polite drivers are Hawaii, South Dakota, North Dakota and Maine. Meanwhile, the top five states with confrontational drivers are California, Missouri, Utah, Oklahoma and Colorado, according to Forbes Advisor.

Across states, 41% of respondents said they’ve seen an act of road rage in the past 12 months.

Forbes Advisor surveyed 10,000 licensed drivers and compared all 50 states covering nine key metrics. The questions asked covered situations ranging from drivers honking in frustration to one car forcing another off the road.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.