Children’s health fair to showcase county services

Published 7:39 pm Wednesday, April 1, 2015

SWAN QUARTER — Three organizations are gearing up for the third-annual Hyde County Children’s Health Extravaganza, showcasing health services available to children in the area.

The event will kick off at 10:30 a.m. on April 10 at O.A. Peay Gym in Swan Quarter and will last until 2:30 p.m. Children 12 and under that register will be provided with lunch free of charge.

Sponsored by the Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children, Hyde County Children’s Center and Hyde County Hotline, the event will feature a variety of vendors to showcase available health services for children in the county, said Eve Richardson, client services director at Hyde County Hotline. The theme for this year, “Healthy Eating, Active Living,” focuses on promoting healthy eating habits and exercise among children. Registrants will receive a “bingo” card and if taken to each booth where stickers are given to place on the cards, that person will be entered into a drawing upon the card being returned to the registration table.

Richardson said each booth will have a game or interactive activity for children to participate and bouncy houses, obstacle courses and workshops will be available for children to exercise. There will also be drawings for door prizes, donated by the Hyde County Commissioners, every half hour. Among the agencies and organizations that will be in attendance are BHPC, DSS, Hyde Transit, Hyde County Sheriff’s Department, Hyde County Head Start, Hyde County Hotline, Transformation Zone, Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department, Hyde County Children’s Center and more, Richardson said.

The organizations hope to have a bigger turnout than last year in order for more families to gain awareness of the services available in the county, Richardson said.

“Last year, we didn’t have as big of a turnout as the first year we did it,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of programs that there is not a lot of involvement in so we’re hoping if the kids can come out and have a good time, the parents will learn about the services available for children.”

For more information, call Hyde County Health Department at 252-926-4200 or Hyde County Hotline at 252-925-2502.