For Oak Cliff Festival

The Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty recently released their poverty report, stating that Dallas has the highest child poverty rate in the country. Dallas joins cities such as Baltimore and Chicago in having the largest gap of disparity between the rich and poor in America. When we focus on the total number of individuals living in poverty in particular zip codes, 75216 stands out and has one of the highest poverty rates in Dallas County.

In an effort to eliminate the financial burden of purchasing school supplies, the community organized the 2nd Annual For Oak Cliff Back to School Festival, which took place August 13th. This year at For Oak Cliff, we had 3,000 families attend Glendale Park in the spirit of peace and serenity. For Oak Cliff is more than just a school supplies giveaway festival, we also registered over 100 people to vote and were able to match over 20 people with jobs. Schools such as Paul Quinn College and The University of North Texas were also at the event, speaking to students about their respective colleges and what it takes to enroll.

Margaret Benson, who has lived in the neighborhood over 40 years and has lived in Oak Cliff over 70 plus years, states, “The past two years, I have seen the park filled with families excited about the upcoming school year. This event gives me hope for the generations to come and that there will be change within the community.”

We want to thank everyone who made this event possible: Dallas Park and Rec, The Mayor’s Office, The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, The Dallas Mavericks, Williams Chicken, Texas Instruments, and Celanese.

Stay tuned for upcoming For Oak Cliff news and events by visiting our website at www.foroakcliff.org and liking our Facebook page.