San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Free backpacks only part of the fun
It was only half way through the afternoon, but barber Jimmy Baracio estimated he’d already cut two dozen children’s hair.
As he finished fading the hair on the back of a boy’s neck, a line of a half-dozen others waited for their turns. It was the fourth year in a row that in a row that Baracio spent a Saturday at the start of the school helping children get ready for the year ahead.
He had clearly developed a following.
“The reason why I do it is I also came from the streets,” said Baracio, who runs a barbering business called Blessed Hands. “If I can encourage someone when I’m talking to them and cutting their hair — you know, just some type of hope — that's what I want to do.”
Baracio was one of dozens of San Antonians who volunteered their time to help put on Last Chance Ministries’ 13th annual backpack giveaway. Hundreds of families filled Rosedale Park on the West Side, where they could find free school supplies, haircuts and eye exams, as well as food, games and music.
The 103-degree temperatures didn’t stop dozens of children from giggling and squealing as they jumped on bouncy castles. Parents sought refuge from the heat on picnic tables under trees, sipping sodas and cold bottled water. The air smelled of tacos, chalupas and popcorn.
Hundreds of families crowded in front of a stage, listening to Last Chance Ministries Pastor Jimmy Robles and other religious speakers talk before volunteers began handing out hundreds of new backpacks. Robles’ 17-year-old son waited on the side, prepared to jump into action when the time came.
“From the very beginning, I've been here doing these events,” said Santiago Robles, adding he must’ve been 4 years old at his first one.
This year, volunteers had 2,000 backpacks to give away, each one filled with supplies including crayons, folders, notebooks and tissues, Robles said. If they ran out of backpacks, volunteers would tap into dozens of boxes of school supplies, stacked at the back of the stage.
Families also could sift through piles of donated clothes or talk with staff from social service organizations that had set up at booths around the fair.
But some families just came for the fun. Brooke Walker, who moved recently to San Antonio from Lubbock, came with her 10month-old son and 3-yearold daughter, who still have a ways to go before they start school. Instead of waiting for supplies, the family spent the afternoon eating tacos and playing with balloons.
“My daughter is loving it, that’s for sure,” the mother said.
Under the shade of a tent, Hopie, 3, tried to toss bean bags onto a child-sized corn hole board. After a few tries, the little girl got one in. She beamed.
“Woo!” her mother cheered.