Hundreds of North Texas families are expected to gather in South Dallas this weekend for a free health expo designed to help children and parents prepare for the upcoming school year.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas will host its 4th annual Back-to-School Health Expo presented by Aetna on Saturday, Aug. 1.
The expo runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Park South Family YMCA on 2500 Romine Ave. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged at this link. Walk-ups are welcome.
The fair will offer free health screenings, school physicals, live cooking demonstrations, fitness classes and access to mental health and wellness resources. Families will also have the opportunity to receive free school supplies, new tennis shoes and other giveaways while supplies last.
Organizers say the event has continued to expand each year. More than 700 people have already registered for this year’s expo, surpassing registration numbers from 2025.
Tracey Burns, senior director of healthy lifestyles for the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, said the goal is to ease some of the financial and logistical burdens families face as the school year approaches.
“We hope to alleviate some of that stress,” she said. “Just a one-stop shop to be able to take some of the load off of the families that are going to be coming in. We really just wanna set them up for success for the school year.”
This marks the second year it will be held at the Park South Family YMCA, which was recently renovated for the first time in its over 50-year history.
“We just celebrated our one year anniversary of our brand new beautiful building. And our Park South Y is one of our most underserved communities, so we really like to meet the community where they’re at and be able to serve them,” said Burns.
Last year, the YMCA distributed 125 school supply boxes, 375 new pairs of shoes and 5,000 pounds of food during the event. Organizers hope to exceed those numbers this year as attendance continues to grow.
Other community organizations that will be present at the expo include Parkland Hospital, Children’s Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Texas Health Resources, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas County Health and Human Services, Metrocare Services, Scottish Rite for Children, the Center for BrainHealth and several others.
