By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Close to 1,900 people attended the 19th annual Del Rio Back To School Heath Fair at the Del
Rio Civic Center Friday morning.
The event was held from 9 a.m. to noon with local organizations filling up both the Pecan and Red Oak Ballrooms. More than 45 agencies and
businesses were part of this year’s fair, where they gave away free school supplies to children
for the upcoming school year.
the 19th Annual Del Rio Back To School Health Fair. Back to Action Physical Therapy was one
of the many businesses and agencies that participated in the fair. (Photo by Louis Zylka).
J’s Beauty and Barber Shop offered free haircuts for children at the event, and members of
United Medical Centers were in attendance to conduct sport physicals for children participating
in sport-related activities.
The members of the Back To School Health Fair committee include Claudia Lopez of BCFS
Health and Human Services, Gina McNeal from Border Federal Credit Union (BFCU), Hector
Guerra, Maria Teresa Villar of Mexican Consulate of Del Rio and Luz Covarrubias from the
Salvation Army. McNeal said the fair’s major contributors included the Bethel Center, Salvation
Army, KWMC Radio, Cadena Family Practice, BCFS, BFCU, the Mexican Consulate of Del Rio,
Val Verde Regional Medical Center and the city of Del Rio.
Jorge Garza, Del Rio Main Street Program/Incubator Manager, said more than 50 people were
lined up outside when he arrived at 8 a.m. By 10 a.m, more than 100 people were still lining up
at both sides of the civic center as lines of families were formed to get materials and
informational packets from the organizations that attended.
Covarrubias said the number of people at this year’s fair was larger than last year’s. Valeria
Castillo, a Del Rio resident, said attending the fair helped her a lot by providing supplies. She
said her children were able to get plenty of materials in preparation for school, including pencils,
crayons and binders.
Guerra said he started the Back To School Health Fair in 2007 when he worked as the regional
coordinator for the office of border affairs at the Health and Human Services Commission
(HHSC). The fair first began at the Del Rio High School before it moved to the civic center in
2008. Guerra mentioned he also helped start similar events throughout other counties in the
Middle Rio Grande area starting in 2009.
“The main focus (of the fair) is going to the heart of the community. The heart of the community
is the school districts because that is where our future is; that is where our kids are,” Guerra
said.
McNeal mentioned how the fair was made possible through funding events and donations, and
she said the main priority for the fair each year is providing backpacks. Salvation Army provided
the majority of backpacks for this year’s school fair. Clear backpacks were also provided for
middle school and high school students to follow the clear backpack policy posted on the SFDR
CISD website.
