ESCANABA -- The Daily Press recently sponsored the second annual Back to School Fair at the YMCA of Delta County. But the free event wasn't just about fun and games. Kids also learned about oral health education and got health screenings.
This was good for the many parents to tell their kids about the importance of staying healthy.
“It’s great,” explains Karla Villahermosa-Kroll, whose son attended the fair. “That’s because it's just so different if you're just going to keep telling them to do this and do that. But to come from other health professionals out there, it sinks better in their minds."
Especially when you make health awareness fun.
“It's all tied to just getting out there and moving,” explains Daily Press publisher, Dan McDonald. “So we want to do our help to fix that problem."
And it seemed to be working.
“Well, I learned that my spine is good because of this place,” said participant, David Villahermosa-Kroll, “because the health officials checked out my spine."
Something not as fun, but just as necessary, was getting middle school shots. Sixth graders are now required to have meningitis, chicken pox, and whooping cough immunizations, and the Public Health Clinic was there to give those vaccinations at a discounted price.
But the fair also raised safety awareness for the road. The kids took part in a distracted driver obstacle course and tried their hand at a driving simulator.
“Safety issues are a big issue of going back to school. The kids are out in the school scene, there are traffic situations going on, they're around a lot of different people,” McDonald said.
Last year, attendance was around 875. But this year, organizers said the Health Fair drew well over 1,000 participants.
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