SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY CENTER
Bounce homes, video games and a dunking sales space will fill the grounds on the Southside Community Center later this month, however behind the enjoyable and laughter, the Spring Fair serves a a lot larger goal.
The honest will probably be held March 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is designed to convey the San Marcos group collectively for a day of enjoyable whereas elevating funds to help the middle’s companies for people in want.
This 12 months’s occasion could have carnival-style meals, recreation cubicles, bounce homes, in addition to music and dancing all through the day.
Attendees may participate in interactive sights comparable to “Dunk a Doctor” and “Pie a Politician.” Southside Board President Todd Salmi, San Marcos CISD Superintendent Michael Cardona and Texas State University professor Dr. Green will take turns within the dunk tank, whereas Hays County Judge Maggie Moreno, State Representative Erin Zwiener and Hays County Commissioner Precinct 2 candidate Johnny Flores are scheduled for the pie-throwing sales space.
Tickets value $20 prematurely for ages 11 and older, $5 for kids ages 6 to 10 and are free for kids 5 and beneath. Admission will probably be $30 on the gate. A single ticket offers entry to meals and actions all through the occasion. Despite being a fundraiser, organizers emphasised that the occasion is supposed to be accessible to everybody locally, even those that could not be capable to afford the price of admission.
“It is open to the community,” Claude Churchwell, treasurer for Southside Community Center, mentioned. “We’re not going to turn anybody away.”
While the environment is supposed to be lighthearted, the necessity behind the fundraiser is fixed.
“Currently we feed seven days a week to the unhoused, both breakfast and an evening meal,” Churchwell mentioned. “We’re currently feeding about 50 unhoused people a day, seven days a week.”
Southside is the one group in San Marcos that gives every day meals year-round to unhoused residents, in response to Churchwell. The heart additionally operates a brief shelter program, permitting people to remain as much as 30 days whereas working to regain stability.
Beyond meals and shelter, Southside offers emergency help comparable to resort vouchers, and operates warming facilities throughout freezing temperatures and cooling facilities throughout excessive warmth.
“We’re the only place in town that is currently feeding,” Churchwell mentioned. “We’re the only place in town that opens our shelter as a warming center or cooling center.”
The honest additionally provides residents an opportunity to attach with the group’s mission extra personally. Churchwell mentioned that is vital to sustaining long-term help.
“We’re taking care of a segment in the community that needs support the most,” he mentioned.
As Southside approaches its one hundredth anniversary in 2027, the Spring Fair displays each the group’s historical past and its ongoing position in San Marcos.
From its early days serving immigrant households to its present work addressing homelessness and housing instability, the middle has continued to adapt to the group’s wants whereas sustaining its core mission of offering meals, shelter and help.
Organizers say the March 28 occasion is a technique for the broader group to participate in that work, whether or not by attending, volunteering or sponsoring.
“This is to get the community involved,” Churchwell mentioned.
The occasion will happen at Southside Community Center, 518 S. Guadalupe St. Tickets and extra data can be found at southsidecommunitycenter. org.