HARLINGEN — Lucia Mendoza looked tired but relieved.
She’d found enough clothes and school supplies for her six children to begin another year of school, thanks to the Texas parents’ Day at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harlingen Main Unit.
“It’s very good,” she said. “We are a big family.”
The Harlingen school district’s Parental Involvement office organized the effort Friday to provide donated items for those in need. Patsy Sanchez, social worker for Parental Involvement, was happy with the event’s success.
“It’s fantastic,” she said. “We had a lot of people giving clothing and school supplies. It’s very important for a lot of families. We usually have about 300 families.”
Inside the Main Unit, parents and children searched through piles of clothing on tables throughout a large gym. A woman held up a shirt, looked it over carefully and then put it aside while a small girl imitated her movements. A small boy bounced a white balloon near an area where children fished for prizes from a cardboard box.
“I have gotten the short sleeved shirts but I am getting some long sleeves for fall,” said Lucy Deras, who was getting two of her children ready for school.
“We are on a budget,” she said, all smiles.
She looked over the clothes she’d gathered.
“We have to prepare,” she said. “They are used but they are new.”
Her daughter Priscilla, 16, also appreciated the effort.
“I love the way they put a lot of clothes for a lot of the kids,” she said.
