Back-to-School Fair is July 23 in Scarboro

The Oak Ridger
·2 min read

The Oak Ridge/Anderson County NAACP's third annual Back-to-School Fair – featuring a free clinic for physicals, gift cards, school supplies and a hot dog meal – will be 1-4 p.m. July 23 at the Scarboro Community Center Gymnasium, 148 Carver Ave.

Many parents, children, educators and community organizations participated in the event in 2022.
Many parents, children, educators and community organizations participated in the event in 2022.

The fair will also include representatives from Robertsville and Jefferson middle schools, Oak Ridge High School (ORHS), the elementary schools, Oak Ridge Preschool and the Oak Ridge Schools' Family Resource people.

A sign-in sheet will make folks eligible for free gift cards throughout the event. The first 10 parents who come with their children will receive a gift card, according to a news release.

The Oak Ridge/Anderson County NAACP will have both membership and voter registration booths, and booths of many other groups include Beyond the Barr Dance Collective; Men of Tomorrow Mentoring; Scarboro Community Alumni Association; Children’s Museum; Girls Inc.; Roane State Community College; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; and even the National Park Service. Crafts, including STEM crafts from ORAU, will be provided.

Additional booths include those of the Oak Ridge Schools Robotic Demonstration; Oak Ridge Associated Universities STEM Demonstration; and a booth for parents to sign up for Oak Ridge Schools' Free Meals program. The Oak Ridge Police Department will also have a booth and will be giving away free backpacks. In-kind donations have been provided by John Wallace of J&M’s Butcher Shop and Robin Castleberry, Doubletree Hotel, Oak Ridge.

The Back-to-School Fair is open to all Oak Ridge parents and students. Music will be provided, and photographs taken for archive and marketing. If you do not want photos taken, please advise when you register upon arriving.

This NAACP-event is co-sponsored by the Free Clinic, the city of Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department, and the Oak Ridge school district. Rose Weaver serves as the Education Chair and Annette Flynn is the President of the Oak Ridge – Anderson County NAACP Branch.

For information on the local NAACP, email the secretary at: vanessaspratling@gmail.com. The general monthly meeting is always on the fourth Tuesday evening of the month in the meeting room of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge, 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the public is always invited.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Back-to-School Fair is July 23 in Oak Ridge