Mountain Health & Community Services hosted their 7th annual Back to School Night and it was a huge success. On Tuesday, August 21st, families lined up outside with kids excited to pick out their backpacks. As the kids filed in, they “shopped” for their favorite backpack that was then filled with school supplies. With the generous donations from many supporters, over 240 backpacks and school supplies were provided to the students; over 320 people attended the event this year and dined on a brown bag supper of deli sandwiches, potato salad and fruit. Paul Nichols entertained everyone on his acoustic guitar as they dined on the patio and in the park. Students were excited to pick out their backpack and fill it with back to school goodies: glue, scissors, pens, colorful folders, index cards, markers and more. Child after child walked out of the community center with smiles wide.
Although the number of donations increased this year, the need for assistance also increased dramatically. With the price of gas, more families are finding it difficult to shop for supplies “down the hill.” Mountain Health and Community Services (MHCS) is happy to help these families bring the backpacks and supplies to the kids and provide them at no cost. The students were excited to begin their first day of school and were now prepared.
A special thank-you to the following organizations and individuals who also contributed to this event: San Diego Gas & Electric, East County Jackalopes, Boulevard Home Fellowship, Kiwanis Club of Alpine, Campo/Mountain Empire Kiwanis, Mountain Empire Collaborative, Alpine Albertson’s, Quest Diagnostics, Care 1st Health Insurance, Homemaker’s Association and the Mountain Empire Seniors. This year the Alpine Community Church youth group volunteered their time to bag all of the supplies by grade level so each student would have everything that they needed. It takes many hands to put on an event and we want to thank all of the volunteers who came to help make this a success.
Visit the Mountain Empire Community Center to pick up a calendar of the many other programs offered by MHCS or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MountainEmpireCommunityCenter and www.facebook/MountainHealth. Contact Esther Matos, Community Center coordinator at (619) 478-2384. Remember that fall is a great time to schedule physicals for your students or flu shots are now available for the upcoming cold weather season. You can schedule your appointments at Mountain Empire Family Medicine in Campo at (619) 478-5311 or Alpine Family Medicine at (619) 445-6200. Alpine Family Medicine is open for appointments on most Saturdays for your convenience. Mountain Health & Community Services is a full-service community health center and offers assistance with health insurance or services on a sliding fee scale for uninsured patients. We also accept most insurance including Medi-Cal, Medicare, Healthy Families and private insurance.
