TRIADELPHIA — Just about an hour into the Bazzy’s Back To School Bash backpack drive Friday at Shults Ford at the Highlands, dozens of backpacks and other school supplies started to fill a van sitting outside the car dealership’s lot.

That, Shults Ford owner Richard Bazzy said, was a testament to the Ohio Valley community and one of the reasons he appreciates being a part of it.

The dealership was accepting backpacks and supplies until 4 p.m. Friday. It was a program Bazzy began at the company’s Wexford, Pennsylvania, site and wanted to bring to West Virginia.

“The need is so great in every community,” Bazzy said. “You’d be so surprised to know. But it’s also the difference it makes in a student’s participation in school to have the proper tools: the right pencil, the right notebooks, the right backpack, to feel part of something instead of feeling standoff by not having it. That’s the part that makes me feel good.”

What also made Bazzy feel good is the cooperation he saw Friday from so many community members and businesses. Walmart donated dozens of backpacks to the cause. Tacet Coffee Cart and So Nuts 4 Donuts spent the morning at the site, while Rita’s and Bubba’s Burghers spent the afternoon there, feeding those who donated.

“The fiber of this community is an honor to me,” he said. “I really embrace it. Seeing the participation here, and seeing everybody embrace this backpack event is really heartwarming for me and I’m so happy.”