South Dallas back-to-school events: 2025 roundup
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Any student who needs a backpack can visit one of five spots in South Dallas today to pick up a free one.
Back-to-school fairs in Mill City, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, at the “Legendary” Lincoln High School and in the Bonton/Ideal neighborhoods are promising thousands of free backpacks, haircuts, vaccines, school supplies and other giveaways between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. today.
Dallas ISD students start back next Tuesday, Aug. 12, so the rush for everything from pencils to new uniforms is on. KERA’s story yesterday on the Mill City event notes that nonprofits are “facing federal cuts to programs that help families” and “coupled with high costs of groceries and housing, families are searching for ways to help with costs that come with the beginning of the school year.”
That event, at the Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center, has 2,500 backpacks to give away, plus free haircuts and physicals. Sherri Mixon at T.R. Hoover says she expects “no less than 300 kids” to come for vaccines, haircuts and school supplies. Joey Darwin at Bridge Builders says they have 450 kids registered.
Most of the events request pre-registration, but all encourage families to stop by even if they haven’t registered. Find details for each of the five back-to-school events on our South Dallas calendar, and if you attend the event at Bridge Builders in Bonton, make sure to drop by Dallas Free Press’ pop-up newsroom.
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Keri Mitchell has spent 20+ years as a community journalist, including 15 years dedicated to community and civic journalism at Dallas’ Advocate magazines. She launched Dallas Free Press in early 2020 with the belief that all neighborhoods deserve reporting and storytelling that values their community and holds leaders accountable.
Mitchell says she is energized by “knowing our work is making an impact — listening to people, telling their stories with strong narratives paired with compelling data that leads to change. I also love spending time in our neighborhoods and with our neighbors, learning from them and working to determine how journalism can be part of the solution to their challenges.”
Mitchell is proud to be the winner of multiple awards during her journalism career including: Finalist in Magazine Feature Reporting (2018) and Finalist in Magazine Investigative Reporting (2017) from Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism, Best Feature Story (2011) from Texas Community Newspaper Association and Best Magazine Feature (2011) from Dallas Bar Association Philbin Awards.
Areas of Expertise:
local government, education, civic issues, investigative and enterprise reporting
Location Expertise:
Dallas, Texas
Official Title:
Founder + executive director
Email Address:
keri@dallasfreepress.com
