PHARR — The local police department prepared for this year’s National Night Out by holding it here at the Pharr Aquatic Center in order to help families, friends and community members beat the summer heat as they celebrated the nationwide event Tuesday; and if the feedback was any indication, it turned out to be rather chill after all.
“It’s to bring the community together and create good relationships with our citizens in Pharr,” Lieutenant Abram Robles said Tuesday. “I help them out with some of the necessities for the upcoming school year.”
National Night Out started in 1984 and is meant to raise awareness about police programs in communities. What that looked like In Pharr on Tuesday was something participatory and festive: The venue’s parking lot held multiple canopies spreading across the hot pavement where several facilities and departments such as Palm Behavioral Health, Driscoll Health Plans and the Pharr Chamber of Commerce had volunteers handing out plastic, see-through and mesh backpacks, notebooks, crayons, pencils and other school supplies.
A community representative for Driscoll Health Plans, Alfred Molina stood at the front entrance of the pool area with other volunteers handing out backpacks and helping in other ways.
“Today we’re reaching out to the community,” Molina said. “Driscoll Health Plans is donating 800 backpacks to the city of Pharr and of course, we’re educating them on the programs we have for the community itself.”
Molina added that he had donated another 400 backpacks that morning in Rio Grande City for a back-to-school bash.
Some canopies had various games like cornhole and disc drop where kids could play in order to win prizes.
The families came prepared for the summer heat as they dressed in shorts, hats, sunglasses and bathing suits as the Pharr Aquatic Center was open to attendees to take a dip in the cool water and escape the sun.
Forecasts had the temperature in the low 90 degrees but felt as though it was 100, and the humidity level was at 43%, which made the heat nearly unbearable.
One mother, 37-year-old Jenna Robles, from Pharr, had her kids stacked with backpacks already filled with multiple supplies from the event.
“We have our own little booth in the corner with all the Jeeps, it’s called Alpha Off Road,” Robles said. “It’s a Jeep club where we do off-roading, family events and family get-togethers.”
Robles added that she was enjoying the event, especially her kids, as she pointed to the mesh backpacks she described as super cute.
Her daughter, 10-year-old Kareli, shyly said she loved her new school supplies.
When asked if they’d jump in the pool to cool off, Robles answered with a probably.
“The kids actually like playing the games, so we’re doing that and we’ll see, once we wind down a little bit, if we get in there,” Robles said.
