Calipatria district, resource center celebrate 20th Children’s and Family Health Fair
NILAND – Decorative streamers were strung-up in Grace
Smith Elementary School’s gymnasium on Wednesday, March 15 for Calipatria Unified School District and the Calipatria-Niland Family Resource Center’s 20th annual Family and Children’s Health Fair.
The fair brought nearly 50 service providers into the Niland community. Participating agencies were eager to interact with the kids and provided informational flyers for the students to take home to parents.
Director- Coordinator for the Calipatria-Niland Family Resource Center (CNFRC), Maria Nava-Froelich, said the goal of the event is for members in the community to be introduced to services in the county.
“It’s our hope that they (parents and kids) will establish a relationship with the agencies,” Nava-Froelich said.
The Imperial County Public Health Department provided COVID-19 testing and also offered vaccines against the virus.
The CNRFC Director- Coordinator said coordination of the event brings together the community. She said every agency is invited to participate in the fair, but some critical “key components” such as dental, free screenings, blood pressure and glucose testing are normally present.
Nava-Froelich said the event has grown considerably over the years and provides a festive atmosphere where students can learn about their health while playing games and eating snacks.
“There is a lot of giveaways,” she said, gesturing to a table piled high with prizes which were raffled off to fair-goers.
Sixth-grader Jeaselle Foster said she had “a lot of fun” at the fair.
“I met new people and went around on the tables,” Foster said, as she showed her bag full of a variety of school supplies, stickers, toothbrushes, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, flower seeds and small toys.
Angelita Ortiz, Calipatria Unified School District Superintendent, informed the parents that this is the one time out of the year that the organizations come to them.
“Parents, we hope you had the pleasure of getting access to community resources,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz later said that many community agencies are located in the southern end of the county. The annual health fair gives students the opportunity to connect with these organizations, “which could be a benefit to their families.”
“The event here in Niland really shows the support of all our community agencies,” Ortiz said.