By Myra Bean

The 11th Annual Pay It Foward Camp, hosted by former Pittsburgh Steeler Deshea Townsend, will be held Saturday at the South Panola Tiger Football Field.

Children ages 7 to 18 will be able to meet and work out with 15 other professional football players Townsend will bring with him.

The camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch served.

The camp is expected to host 1,500 boys and girls in football and cheerleading.

The two-time Super Bowl Champ player beams with pride when talking about the endurance and success of the football and cheerleading day camp. “We are honored that the great people of Batesville have continued to send their kids to our camp. We couldn’t do it without the support of the community,” said Townsend.

In addition to the camp, the Pay It Forward Foundation will host its second annual health fair at the Batesville Middle School.

The free Health Fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and parents who have registered their children for the camp will receive a pre-screening questionnaire for the health fair. There will be local healthcare professionals on-site to provide free health screenings and information on several health issues such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and asthma. There will be complimentary Pay It Forward Health Fair t-shirts given to attendees who participate in the health screenings.  The Health Fair is free and open to the public at the Batesville Middle School Cafeteria. “I am delighted that the Heinz Family Philanthropies, PhRMA, Boys and Girls Club of Northwest MS, Abbott Laboratories, the Aaron E. Henry Health Centers and others are helping.  The Heinz Foundation and its partners are creating a Health Fair where all of the children and their parents will receive important and invaluable health screenings.  By doing this, we identify specific health problems quickly and give the uninsured a medical home at the local Aaron E. Health Center,” said Townsend.

Added to the camp this year is a boot camp for adults over 18 years of age which will be held from 10 to 11 a.m.