Annual back-to-school fairs will soon begin distributing free pencils, rulers and the like, and providing free health screenings to needy kids.

Available services and goodies vary with each event, and some fairs are intended for children from certain schools or districts. All fairs are first-come, first-served. Events providing immunizations generally prefer that children bring their immunization records, and some require parents or guardians to attend with the child.

Here are some of the back-to-school events in the South Sound:

 • Back-to-School Family Health Carnival, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, at Church for All Nations, 111 112th St. E., (at Pacific Avenue), Parkland. Some 43 providers will offer community resource information and health services, including lead screenings, dental exams, immunizations and physical exams. Instead of a “cake walk,” kids can do “sock and underwear walks” and other carnival games. Backpacks stuffed with school supplies will be available for third- through 12th-graders.

Children from any school district will be served, but must attend with a parent or guardian and have their immunization record if they want to get shots. Sponsored by Nations Social Services, Molina Health Care, and Pacific Lutheran University Wellness Center and Clinic. For more information, call Nations Social Services at 253-539-3118.

 • Back-to-School Health & Safety Carnival, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, at Stewart Heights Park, 402 E. 56th St., Tacoma. Families can learn about health care insurance, after-school programs and other community resources. Kids can play games, get school supplies, sports physicals and vision screenings.

Children must attend the following Tacoma schools: Blix, Boze, Fawcett, Lister, Lyon, McKinley, Roosevelt, Sheridan, or Washington-Hoyt elementary schools; Gault, McIlvaigh or Stewart middle schools; or Foss, Lincoln, Mount Tahoma or Oakland high schools.

Sponsored by World Vision, the Tacoma School District and local community members and businesses. For more information, contact Laura Rodriguez at 253-383-1528 or Sofia Soto at 253-627-0474, ext. 2231.

 • Caring for Kids Ready to Learn Fair, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 16, at Lochburn Middle School, 5431 Steilacoom Blvd., Lakewood. Children can get school supplies, immunizations, dental exams, lunch, vision and hearing screenings, books and gently used clothing. Free sports physicals are available for high school students. Bike helmets can be purchased for $6. A few used bicycles will be available for free.

Children must attend Clover Park, Steilacoom or University Place school districts and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school. Sponsored by Caring for Kids, Soundview UniServ Council and the City of Lakewood.

For more information, check out www.carekids.org.

 • Back-to-School End-of-Summer Carnival, noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 23 at Trinity Church, 4041 Tacoma Mall Blvd. (next to REI), Tacoma. Kids can eat, play games, get their faces painted, their hair cut and pick up free school supplies and uniforms.

Event intended for Tacoma students attending: Arlington, Birney, Edison, Fern Hill, Larchmont, Manitou Park, Mann, Stafford, Reed or Whitman elementary schools; Baker, Giaudrone or Gray middle schools; or the Park Avenue Center. Sponsored by Trinity Church, Puget Sound Christian Center and the Tacoma School District. For more information, contact Trinity Church at 253-471-0818.

 • Hilltop Back-to-School Event, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 30, at People’s Park, South Ninth and Martin Luther King Jr. streets, Tacoma. Kids can play games and get haircuts, food, clothes, manicures and a backpack stuffed with school supplies. Kids should register that day for the backpacks, which will be distributed at 2:30 p.m.

Event intended for Tacoma students attending Browns Point, Crescent Heights, DeLong, Downing, Franklin, Grant, Geiger, Lowell, Jefferson, McCarver, Northeast Tacoma, Point Defiance, Sherman, Skyline, Stanley, Wainwright or Whittier elementary schools; Hunt, Jason Lee, Mason, Meeker or Truman middle schools; or Foss, Stadium, Tacoma School of the Arts or Wilson high schools. For more information, contact Kanda Patton at 253-572-3794.

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694

HOW TO HELP

Donors can help needy kids by dropping off school supplies at branches of the Washington State Employees Credit Union.

Community members may bring school supplies, backpacks and gift cards to bins in branch lobbies through Aug. 22 as part of the regional “Stuff the Truck” campaign.

Wish list items include notebooks, crayons, paper, pens, pencil cases, art supplies, calculators, batteries and dictionaries.

Donations at the Tacoma branch will support the Maxine Mimms Academy, a nonprofit community education organization supporting at-risk youth. Donations collected elsewhere will support First Place School, a nonprofit service agency in Seattle devoted to helping children whose families struggle with the risk or reality of homelessness.

Credit union branches in Pierce County include are at 950 Broadway, Suite 102, in downtown Tacoma, and at 9320 Bridgeport Way S.W. in Lakewood.