Housing Authority holds “Back-to-School” Fair, helping more than 500 children

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso held its 7th annual “Back-to-School Fair” Saturday, providing backpacks and school supplies to children in need.

More than 500 children from the Housing Choice Voucher Program received backpacks filled with school supplies. Children from ages 6 – 11 years old received backpacks that included notebooks, crayons, pencils, rulers, markers, scissors, and folders. Two families also went home with laptop computers.

For the past six years, HACEP has held the backpack fair, helping more than 2,000 children and their families.

Officials say the supplies help offset the cost to families earning an average of $12K-$15K a year as the beginning of a school year can leave a dent in anyone’s wallet.

“Today, we were able to go beyond providing safe and sanitary homes to our families,” said Lorena Rivera, Director of the HCV Program. “This is due to the tremendous support we received from our community partners, whose participation is key to the success of this event.”

The supplies were funded through a grant from Wilma D. Moleen Foundation. Volunteers with several companies and organizations including Chase Bank, Rio Bravo Title, El Paso’s National IBF Featherweight World Champion Jennifer Han, City of El Paso Public Health Department, Smile Magic, Star Medical Group, Chamizal National Memorial, 2-1-1 Texas, El Paso Zoo, El Paso Library, Big Boy Concessions, Craze, the Food Truck Association, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, UTEP, EP Fitness, Fresh on Mondays and the HACEP Community Services Smoke-Free Initiative Team assisted.