With summer break coming to a close, many Indianapolis parents are starting to get their kids ready to go back to school.
For most parents, this includes buying costly school supplies and taking children to numerous doctors’ appointments that can quickly add up.
“Our economy is still not quite back to where it needs to be and a lot of families still struggle with getting school supplies and paying for a sports physical,” said Pamela Humes, program director of Covering Kids and Families, a program that helps eligible families register for health coverage.
Fortunately for many Indianapolis residents, Covering Kids and Families will help ease these school related financial burdens by providing free supplies and medical exams at their 13th annual Back-to-School Family Day. Exciting entertainment and useful information will also be provided by additional organizations, including the Indianapolis Fire Department.
This year’s event will be held on Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Marion County Public Health Department, located at 3838 N. Rural St.
Humes, who also serves as the event coordinator for Back-to-School Family Day, noted the significance of the financial relief the annual event has to offer.
“I think that the cost that we help families not to have to incur during this event (is) why this event is as important as it is,” said Humes.
Children who attend Back-to-School Family Day will receive age appropriate school supplies and can have sports physicals, vision exams, dental exams and more free of charge.
Humes added that a big part of why the event is held every year is that parents will have the opportunity to sign their families and children up for health insurance on-site.
According to the United States’ Census Bureau, 7 million children did not have health insurance in 2011.
“We screen people, all the folks that come through the gates, we screen them to make sure they do have insurance, and if they don’t, we make ourselves available that day to get them signed up,” said Humes. “That’s a major part of why we put this event on.”
Beyond the supplies and health screenings necessary for the upcoming school year, Back-to-School Family Day offers a wide variety of entertainment for children including bounce houses, a bicycle safety course and a show by the 317 Ryders Motorcycle Club.
For four years, the Indianapolis Fire Department has been providing many fun activities at the annual event while at the same time teaching the community about fire safety.
Capt. Aleatha Henderson, director of public safety for the Fire Department, explained that the department decided to get involved because they wanted to get in touch with the community.
“We wanted to reach out into the community and we wanted to choose an event that would allow us to reach the most people and the people that could benefit the most from the information that we have to share,” said Henderson.
Henderson added that at Back-to-School Family Day, children will have the opportunity to participate in numerous educational and fire safety activities provided by the fire department.
After completing the activities, children will be given tickets that can be turned in for cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, face painting and more.
For more information about this year’s Back-to-School Family Day and what to bring, call (317) 221-3178 or visit hhcorp.org.
Back to school giveaways
July 27
* Charles A. Tindley School
3960 Meadows Drive
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
* Kingsley Terrace Church of Christ
2031 E. 30th St.
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
* Manual High School Gymnasium
2405 Madison Ave.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
* Shalom Health Care Center
3400 Lafayette Road, Suite 200
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* Zion Hope Baptist Church
5950 E. 46th St.
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
