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Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, on Thursday, July 9, 2015, at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel in McAllen, addressing the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s 84th Legislative Session Wrap-Up Luncheon.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

The Delta Area School Supplies Drive, which will donate key learning materials, ranging from pens and pencils to paper and erasers to notebooks, is underway and will wrap up on Wednesday, August 19, when the donations will be distributed, while supplies last, to students enrolled in the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District, Rep. Terry Canales has announced. Canales, who said he has contributed in the past to other school drives, said this is the first time he is helping organize one, serving as host for the event. He also expressed deep appreciation to the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club, which is playing a vital role in this event, and to his House 40 constituents in the area. “We have been asking as many people as possible. It is amazing how some companies will pull out their checkbook with a moment’s notice to help with school supplies,” Canales reported. “It is very expensive for all families to prepare their children for the school year. I am just glad to work with the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club and other generous leaders to provide help for those who need it.” Any school student is eligible, but each child must be present to receive a backpack. Each child will get a Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District approved backpack, which means it is clear or mesh. In the backpack will be supplies to get a child started out for the year: pencils, folders, notebooks, tissues, glue sticks, erasers, pencil case, rulers, colored pencils and crayons. The backpacks with school supplies will be given away from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Elementary Cafeteria, 500 West 9th Street, in Elsa. Students must show up in person to receive the donations. Individuals who wish to contribute or have questions about the Delta Area School Supplies Drive may call 956/383-0860. Canales said students who show up are the ones who are doing society the real favor. “There is nothing shameful about needing help,” Canales encouraged the public school students. “By receiving these school supplies, they will do better in school, and it shows the world that Valley students want a great education. We’re here to give our Edcouch-Elsa ISD students some of the tools to help the achieve their goals and dreams.” Equally important, Canales said, the generosity demonstrated by groups such as the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club, local businesses, and caring individuals involved in the school supply drive are worth of fortune in many other ways that count. “Throughout the state and nation, many families simply don’t have enough resources to properly provide the school supplies needed by their children,” the state lawmaker reflected. “But through the love and caring that our residents have for our communities and for our youth, these small acts of kindness are investments in all of our future and well-being.”

••••••

Rep. Canales, Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club join forces for ongoing Delta Area School Supplies Drive that will distribute materials, for free, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19

By DAVID A. DÍAZ
[email protected]

The Delta Area School Supplies Drive, which will donate key learning materials, ranging from pens and pencils to paper and erasers to notebooks, is underway and will wrap up on Wednesday, August 19, when the donations will be distributed, while supplies last, to students enrolled in the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District, Rep. Terry Canales has announced.

Canales, who said he has contributed in the past to other school drives, said this is the first time he is helping organize one, serving as host for the event. He also expressed deep appreciation to the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club, which is playing a vital role in this event, and to his House 40 constituents in the area.

“We have been asking as many people as possible. It is amazing how some companies will pull out their checkbook with a moment’s notice to help with school supplies,” Canales reported. “It is very expensive for all families to prepare their children for the school year. I am just glad to work with the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club and other generous leaders to provide help for those who need it.”

Any school student is eligible, but each child must be present to receive a backpack.

Each child will get a Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District approved backpack, which means it is clear or mesh. In the backpack will be supplies to get a child started out for the year: pencils, folders, notebooks, tissues, glue sticks, erasers, pencil case, rulers, colored pencils and crayons.

The backpacks with school supplies will be given away from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Elementary Cafeteria, 500 West 9th Street, in Elsa. Students must show up in person to receive the donations. Individuals who wish to contribute or have questions about the Delta Area School Supplies Drive may call 956/383-0860.

Canales said students who show up are the ones who are doing society the real favor.

“There is nothing shameful about needing help,” Canales encouraged the public school students. “By receiving these school supplies, they will do better in school, and it shows the world that Valley students want a great education. We’re here to give our Edcouch-Elsa ISD students some of the tools to help the achieve their goals and dreams.”

Equally important, Canales said, the generosity demonstrated by groups such as the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club, local businesses, and caring individuals involved in the school supply drive are worth of fortune in many other ways that count.

“Throughout the state and nation, many families simply don’t have enough resources to properly provide the school supplies needed by their children,” the state lawmaker reflected. “But through the love and caring that our residents have for our communities and for our youth, these small acts of kindness are investments in all of our future and well-being.”

The Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club is a local version of Rotary International, a world-wide organization for humanitarian service, said Arturo Livas, the President of the local chapter of Rotary International.

Through the efforts of Rina D. Castillo, Publisher and Owner of The Community Press, who serves an Alderwoman on the Edcouch City Council, the state representative and the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club formed their partnership on the Delta Area School Supplies Drive, said Livas.

“The Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club is a public service organization committed to serving the community and its members for a better quality of life,” said Livas. “We have a public servant, Alderwoman Castillo, as a rotarian. It is through her contacts that we became involved with this project.”

Canales said the local rotarian organization features “pillars of the community from all walks of life.”

In addition to Livas, the President of the Edcouch Elsa Rotary Club and a retired administrator with the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District who now is an independent insurance agent serving Texas based out of Edinburg, other members of the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club are:

  •  Pete Riojas, the group’s Treasurer, who serves as Federal Programs Director for Edcouch-Elsa ISD;
  •  Dr. Noé Moraida III, Special Services Director, Edcouch-Elsa ISD;
  •  Dr. James G. Hesbrook, D.D.S., the group’s Secretary, who is a dentist in the Delta Region;
  •  Rina D. Castillo, Publisher and Owner of The Community Press, who serves an Alderwoman on the Edcouch City Council;
  •  Anna Flores, LPC, a professional behavioral counselor who is based in Edcouch;
  •  Lydia Flores, Career and Technology Director, Edcouch-Elsa ISD;
  •  Ricardo Flores, Supervisor for Southern Steel Fabricators, Donna;
  •  Marta Garza, owner, Mirasoles Adult Day Care, Edcouch;
  •  Virgil González, Special Education Director, Edcouch-Elsa ISD;
  •  Dr. Ricardo R. González, Optometrist, Valley Eye Care & Optical, Elsa; and
  •  Mireya Mata, an independent insurance agent, who is based in Donna.

Livas explained that through the network of organizations and partners, “the Rotary Club focuses our service efforts in promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mother and children, supporting education and growing local economics.”

In addition, the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club provides the Delta Region with a Christmas parade in order to encourage fellowship.

“We also sponsor a Thanksgiving Give-A-Way for the most needy families,” Livas added. “We have provided a baseball scoreboard for our baseball league. We support students with vision impairments by providing eyeglasses for their use. We support the Rotary International by giving to eradicate polio. We provide medical assistance to members of our communities with the greatest need. We will continue to support our community for the benefit of all.”

The Rotary Club also funds scholarships for students seeking a college education.

“I am most proud of all the students who we have given academic scholarships,” Livas said. “In this way, they see that through education, they have an opportunity to reach the American Dream.”

Canales said the Edcouch-Elsa Rotary Club and scores of other public service organizations and individuals in his House District 40 are shining examples of America’s highest principles.

“There is an old saying, ‘A society is judged by its treatment of its most vulnerable members.’ If you have the ability to help out your community, you should,” Canales said. “In South Texas, we represent the most noble ideals of our great nation.”

••••••

Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, represents House District 40 in Hidalgo County. HD 4o includes portions or all of Edinburg, Elsa, Faysville, La Blanca, Linn, Lópezville, McAllen, Pharr, San Carlos and Weslaco. He may be reached at his House District Office in Edinburg at (956) 383-0860 or at the Capitol at (512) 463-0426.

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