The 27th annual Dallas Mayor’s Back To School Fair welcomed a record number of families into Fair Park on Friday.
The event provides Dallas Independent School District students and families who pre-registered for the event with essential school supplies, valuable services, health screenings, and other resources free of charge.
The event gave more school supplies this year to more kids than ever before. More than 10,000 Dallas ISD students and upwards of 30,000 people total walked through the doors of the fair.
Giveaways included 4,000 clear backpacks donated by the City of Dallas and 300 laptops for high school seniors courtesy of the local Coca-Cola division.
Beyond that, families received free vision and dental screenings, free vaccines, free haircuts and more.
The annual fair comes during a tough time for many families, as ongoing inflation and the rising costs of school supplies puts a strain on their wallets.
“Especially for us who are not able to get school supplies with how expensive they are, no matter what discount they give – I feel like this is a blessing for all of us parents and kids. It takes a huge stress off our mind,” said Dallas ISD mom Felicia Salazar.
Mayor Johnson said he knows the realities Dallas families are facing every year.
“I know the realities really well because I grew up in this town and I grew up in an underserved community. I grew up in a family that was working class. I’m now raising kids in the city and I can tell you that school supplies have never been cheap, but they’ve never been more expensive than they are right now,” he said. “That’s where we can help.”
Spending for the new school year is projected to hit a record of $41 billion across the country, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF). Families with elementary through high school children plan to spend up to $890 on school supplies this year. According to the NRF, that’s $25 more than last year’s record.
“We saved up school supplies from last year just so I wouldn’t have to spend so much this year, but to be able to get this is just amazing,” said Natalye Spencer, a Dallas mom to four kids.
A record-breaking 500 volunteers and 100 vendors helped the fair flow like a well-oiled machine on Friday. This is largely due to a new partnership between the city of Dallas and the Junior League of Dallas.
“We decided to call in the aces of volunteering. This fair has grown so much that we decided we wanted to really take it to a whole new level in terms of volunteers. We’re now partners and we’re expecting this to be the best fair we’ve ever had,” said Mayor Johnson.
Dallas ISD goes back to class on August 14.
