CASC will kick off spring with annual health fair

Last year’s 5K runners stand ready to race. Two hundred to 300 are expected Saturday

By: Jessica Loughery
   HIGHTSTOWN — The Community Action Service Center of Mercer County will host its eighth annual community health fair and 5K run and walk this Saturday at Hightstown High School.
   A nonprofit organization, CASC helps with access to affordable health care, information and support services for local families. Referrals and outreach services are designed to aid families which may not otherwise have access to any health care. With additional programs including a summer enrichment day camp and the health fair, CASC makes improving the quality of life for local families its general goal.
   In partnership with the Hispanic American Medical Association, CASC will offer free preventative health screenings at the fair, in addition to information from experts representing a variety of fields including chiropractic and holistic health. HAMA will provide sponsorship, as well as bilingual doctors who will give medical consultations.
   Amanda Porter, who has been on the CASC board of directors for six years, works voluntarily as a special events coordinator and has headed up planning for this year’s fair. Though the event usually attracts a diverse group, "part of the goal (this year) is to broaden the mix of people," she said.
   "The fair was initially designed as a way to assist families without health insurance or families with health plans that don’t cover preventive insurance," Ms. Porter said. "We’ve also tried to build in activities that appeal to the rest of the community because we want to raise more awareness about what we do as an agency."
   Activities to be offered include a vendor’s fair, a fun run for kids, face-painting, fingerprinting, raffles and door prizes. A blood drive will also occur from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Attendees and runners who participate will receive special gifts.
   CASC Executive Director Lydia Santoni-Williams, who has been with the organization for seven years, said the health fair originated with an outreach program.
   "The Robert Wood Johnson Association was funding a community nurse in response to what, at the time, was identified as tuberculosis in families with limited access to health care," she said. "We put the health fair together because, once we started talking to people, it became obvious to us that once we identified a problem (with their health), there was no place to refer them to."
   Though CASC no longer offers a community nurse, the fair, and others like it in Trenton and Princeton, grew from this obvious need for community health assistance, Ms. Santoni-Williams said.
   "We built on the fair because more and more people are becoming uninsured," she continued. "More and more people need access to health care. A lot of people are (also) looking into holistic health care and working on healthier lifestyles. We wanted something with a broader appeal."
   The fair’s run and walk will follow a course certified by USA Track and Field. Cash prices, T-shirts and refreshments will be distributed to participants.
The fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.cascmercer.org.