Edinburg students and their families received a warm back-to-school welcome Saturday.

Families received free school supplies, COVID-19 vaccinations, health care information, and free haircuts for kids during a back-to-school giveaway event. 

More than 1,000 families and over 600 children went home with school supplies, at no cost; something county officials say is much needed.

“This community has a lot of hardships,” Precinct 4 County Commissioner Ellie Torres said. “There [are] a lot of families in this area that are, right now, without jobs. They have limited resources, so this is a great time to bring all the resources that we have available through our network.”

The event aimed to welcome students back to school and encouraged families to get children over 12 vaccinated against COVID-19 before heading back into the classroom.

“It means a lot to me knowing that our students are coming back into the classroom,” Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District School Board Member Letty Garcia said. “To learn and to try to help them get educated and back on track.”