As a member of Woodrow Wilson High School’s PTA board, Dorothy Strong spends plenty of hours with student activities. But this time of year, most of her efforts are spent on an event of a different sort.

It’s the Community Health Check, a free health and safety fair sponsored by the Dallas County Medical Society and Alliance and hosted by the school for the third year in a row.

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Unlike most events sponsored by PTAs, the only purpose of the event is to serve the community.

Why would a PTA present a community-wide event that’s not specifically for students and raises no money for the school?

“Because it promotes aspects of health and healthcare to the whole community, and it’s also a good avenue for us to get more of the community involved in the school,” Strong says.

“The fair is for everyone, but targets lower-income families,” she says. “We’re trying to get those families more involved with the school, because we don’t have a lot of parent involvement. Hosting this event helps them see it’s a community place, and there are lots of things going on here.”

Just what will be going on at the fair? Look for a variety of health screenings, including tests for blood pressure, anemia, sickle cell trait, asthma and blood sugar. There’ll also be vision tests and dental exams, along with prostate and glaucoma checks. Local physicians will be on hand to answer questions at an “Ask the Doctor” area. More on the safety side of the fair, attorneys will be available to answer legal questions on everything from juvenile law to wills to landlord/tenant issues.

Rick Franco, a Woodrow graduate and member of the school’s Site Based Decision Making council, also is involved in bringing the fair to the school.

“We take up the whole bottom floor of the school, and we have a lot of agencies and hospitals participate. We’re hoping to have 2,000-3,000 people attend.”

The fair, he says, fits in nicely with the SBDM council’s goals for the school.

“Woodrow is a big believer in being part of the community,” he says. “We want to get parents involved in our school, and we want to be involved in the community. That’s why we wanted to host it again.”

Community Health Check takes place Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at 100 S. Glasgow.