County supports Back-to-School Health Fair with fund donation for backpacks

By Marc Robertson - Editor | July 17, 2024

La Salle County commissioners voted unanimously on Monday, July 8, to contribute $2,500 to the Brush Country Chamber of Commerce for its popular annual health fair, set for the last Wednesday of the month.
The 4-6 p.m. July 31 event in the AB Alexander Convention Center on the IH-35 access road in Cotulla has increased in popularity over the past two decades as the principal source for children’s backpacks and other supplies shortly before the start of the new academic year.
The Back-to-School Health Fair includes exhibits, resources, educational material, family information, contacts and face-to-face meetings with healthcare providers, advocates, counselors, school staff, local services and agencies, law enforcement and emergency responders, local government officials, and civic groups, all of whom host booths in the convention center in a marketplace setting.
Children touring the fair with their parents or guardians can fill their new backpacks with various supplies and treats while their parents obtain vital information from providers.
According to Chamber representatives Melinda Rheinfeldt and Jacob Hearn, addressing commissioners at their meeting Monday, more than two hundred children visited the health fair last year, and at least 25 vendors and service agencies hosted booths.
“The event also offers resources from the surrounding area, neighboring communities,” Rheinfeldt said.
The rebranded Brush Country Chamber of Commerce has expanded its reach beyond Cotulla and La Salle County in the past year and now includes members providing goods and services from across the South Texas region.
Hearn told the court that the Chamber hopes to receive at least $2,500 in support from the county to help purchase the supplies that will be distributed free of charge to all children attending.
Commissioners learned that the amount has not been listed in the county’s 2024 budget and that the same was the case last year, when the contribution was likewise unplanned.
“Where can we get the money from?” Comm. Jack Alba asked financial advisor Jorge Flores, indicating the court’s unanimous support for the contribution. Flores indicated that any unplanned budget expenditures will be drawn from carry-over funds, monies that were not spent in the previous year’s budget.
“We did it last year, and it wasn’t budgeted last year,” County Judge Leodoro Martinez III said, seconding Comm. Alba’s motion. He was supported by Comms. Noel Niavez, Erasmo Ramirez and Raul Ayala.