Event aims to give school supplies, educate community about health issues

Kristen Hankla
The Post and Courier

Lucky Ilderton, a regular volunteer for the town of James Island, grills hot dogs during the Island Health Fair and Project Backpack, organized by E Inc. and held at James Island Town Hall.

Kristen Hankla
The Post and Courier

Beverly Kelly (right) tests Rhonda Hamilton for the sickle cell trait during the fair held Aug. 2. Hamilton's daughter, Raven Deleston, looks on.

Kristen Hankla
The Post and Courier

Ashley Morgan enjoys the inflatable slide during the fair. When asked what she thought of the event, she said, "It's good and it's hot."

Four-year-old Auniya Dawkins may have been the one to actually exclaim "Yeah!" when handed free school supplies, but her mother was excited, too.

"Right now, everything is expensive — gas, food — and the free supplies are a big help," said Alva Scott, mother of four.

Three hundred children received supplies during the third annual Island Health Fair and Project Backpack, organized by the James Island-based nonprofit E Inc.

This year, the town of James Island joined in, budgeting $3,000 for the project and allowing the Aug. 2 event to be held in Town Hall.

The grocery bags of supplies — three-ring binders, spiral-bound notebooks, notebook paper, scissors, glue, colored pencils, crayons and markers — were handed out in the back of the building so that visitors first passed through the stations of health information, said Adrienne Chisolm-Cox, founder and CEO of E Inc.

The "E" in the fledgling organization's name stands for engage, encourage, equip and empower. Its motto is, "Opening a window of opportunity for our young people."

The purpose of the event was two-fold: to educate the community on health issues and provide school supplies for low- to moderate-income children, Chisolm-Cox said.

Booths offered testing for the sickle cell trait, blood pressure, and height and weight to estimate attendees' body-mass index, or BMI. Information also was disseminated on autism, stroke prevention, free prostate screening and other medical services as well as the Social Security Administration.

Outside the Camp Road building were other attractions, including Ashley Morgan's favorite: the inflatable slide. The 6-year-old said she also liked the firefighters of the James Island Public Service District Fire Department, who brought a firetruck. Ashley wants to be a "police girl" when she grows up.

She said she's excited about going back to school because she's "looking forward to doing classwork."

Volunteers grilled hot dogs and served up pizza, popcorn and snow cones in the parking lot while radio station 93 Jamz provided music and entertainment, such as hula hoops.

One hundred children with the right raffle numbers won backpacks donated by Office Depot, and five received backpacks full of supplies from BB&T, which will open its first branch on James Island in September.

Parents and children still were showing up near the end of the five-hour event, but the free school supplies had run out, Chisolm-Cox said.

Even so, the event was a huge success, said James Island Town Councilman Bill "Cubby" Wilder, chairman of the Environmental and Recreation Committee.

"My thought was to find a way to give back to the community, and make it good and wholesome," Wilder said, adding that next year's event will be bigger and better.

Reach Kristen Hankla at 937-5548 or khankla@postandcourier.com.