Fun Had by All at Health & Wellness Back 2 School Festival

WASHINGTON - Aug. 24, 2016 - PRLog -- On Saturday, August 6, 2016 The Greater Washington Urban League in partnership with Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc. (TMCT) and Trusted Health Plan (THP), hosted its 4^th Annual Community Health and Wellness Back to School Festival.  For the second year the festival was held at the facility of our community partner, the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust. The event also saw the return of local performing artist Reesa Renee.

The FREE and open-to-the-public festival provided area residents with health screenings provided by Trusted Health Plan which included: lead screenings, physicals, and HIV tests.  The Howard University College of Dentistry provided pediatric dental screenings and on-the-spot dental exams to 160 young people. Other service providers helped enroll residents in health plans and provided parents with valuable health information.

It was a jam-packed day of family fun activities, safe food handling demonstrations by the US Department of Agriculture and healthy eating cooking demonstrations by the University of the District of Columbia's Chef Herb. Staff and volunteers from The Greater Washington Urban League also distributed fresh fruits and vegetables – donated by the Capital Area Food Bank – to several grateful families.

The event featured live music provided by DJ Curley Sue, free food, sno-cones, several raffles throughout the day and entertainment for kids including moon bounces and face painting.  Free haircuts and hairstyles were provided by Hair Academy New Carrollton, Crowned by Queen and Platinum Locs. The League distributed more than 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to school-aged children. One interactive element came in the "Family Passports to Success" which organizers gave to visitors to encourage them to visit and gather information from all of the festival "Zones".

The Greater Washington Urban League, Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc. and Trusted Health Plan would like to also thank all of the generous community partners such as Collaborative for Community Solutions, T&T Amusements, Howard University College of Dentistry, Andrews Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank, Washington Mystics and many other local businesses and entrepreneurs for taking time to share their information and services with the community we serve.

A huge thank you is also extended to Foreman Mills, Whole Foods Markets, and Sports Zone Elite for their generous gifts which attendees won as raffle prizes.

For more information on the GWUL Health and Wellness Back 2 School Festival, please visit, back2school.gwul.org.

This year's festival was fun and informative for the whole family.  We look forward to seeing you next year!

To ensure you are included in the festivities next year or to inquire about becoming a Sponsor for the 2017 Community Festival, contact Ms. Stacey Palmer at 202.265.8200 or spalmer@GWUL.org. You can learn more about GWUL's community programs by visiting:  www.gwul.org .

About the Greater Washington Urban League

Empowering Communities Changing Lives.  The Greater Washington Urban League last year served more than 65,000 residents in Washington, DC, Montgomery County and Prince George's County, Maryland. For more than 78 years GWUL, through its multi-faceted reach and impact locally, has empowered communities and improved residents' quality of life via program services that encompass educational scholarships, employment and training, entrepreneurship, emergency utility and rental assistance and making homeownership possible for first-time buyers.