Eight Annual Mayor’s Back to School Fest

On August 03, 2019 Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner hosted the 8th annual Back To School Fest (BTSF) at the George R. Brown Convention Center. University of Houston Men's Basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson joined in the ribbon-cutting along with other sponsors and community leaders. The Mayor's Back to School Fest is designed to help economically disadvantaged Houston area elementary school students and their families as they prepare to return to school. With the help of many great partners and sponsors, backpacks, school supplies, health screenings, immunizations, and social service resources are provided to thousands of students, free of charge. Students from fifteen school districts and over 10 zip codes were represented at the Back 2 School Fest. Parents and their children had the opportunity to interact with exhibitors such as Catholic Charities, METRO, Neighborhood Centers Inc., Crime Stoppers, Harris County Social Services, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America, Harris County Dispute Resolution Center and the United Way. The University of Houston showcased various programs and departments along with 12 divisions of the City of Houston Health Department. Close to 6,000 backpacks were distributed at this year's event held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. This was the eighth annual BTSF and the fifth year that UH is a sponsor.

UH Departments that showcased their services and resources in the “UH Zone” of the event; UH Charter School, UH Cognitive Development Lab, UH Writing Center, UH Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic, UH Latino Behavioral Health Research, UH HEALTH Research Institute; TOUCH, UH Admissions, UH Athletics, UH Pharmacy, UH Nursing & UH University Eye Institute.

Event highlights:

• The UH College of Nursing had nine interactive educational exhibits, a total of 3,207 visited these exhibits and engaged with the nursing students on the importance of healthy eating habits, daily water consumption, benefits of smoking cessation and healthy diet and exercise tips.

• The UH College of Pharmacy, conducted a total of 3,652 health screenings that included: 159 diabetes screenings, 147 screened for hypertension, 227 immunization screenings, 121 BMI screenings, 88 on diabetes education, 68 on healthy hygiene, 161 on medication safety, 43 on lung health initiatives, 42 on antibiotic resistance, 31 policy advocacy.

• The UH College of Optometry screened a total of 547 kids. Prevent Blindness provided 52 vision vouchers to children. The College is following up and scheduling appointments with children that failed their screening to come in for a full exam on campus.

• UH HEALTH Research Institute conducted over 100 Carbon Monoxide Screenings and provided in-depth education on the impact of second-hand smoke and provided tips and tools to quit smoking. The TOUCH program screened 63 participants; screenings that provided were A1C, BMI, and blood pressure.