Foothill Unity Center Back to School Fair Benefits
Duarte families by preparing children for school
DUARTE, CA August 4, 2011 – Throngs of children from local low-income families will fill the vast concourse at Santa Anita Park racetrack on Thursday, August 18, for Foothill Unity Center’s 13th Annual Back-to-School Fair. Last year, over 1,800 local kids participated in the distribution with approximately 30 % coming from Duarte and the neighboring unincorporated area.
This year, as the tough economy continues to put more families in desperate straits, the Center is preparing to outfit 2,000 local K-12 students. Only children of qualified low-income families can participate in the event. Families are asked to pre-register their children.
Duarte Transit will provide free transportation for Duarte program participants to and from Santa Anita Racetrack every 30 minutes beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Duarte Transit bus stop inside the Target Center parking lot. Buses will leave the racetrack on the hour and pick-up/return to the Target Center bus stop on the half-hour.
On a day that’s a favorite for Center staff, volunteers, and the local community, the youngsters will pick out new backpacks; receive uniforms (clothing for high schoolers), underwear, socks and school supplies; and even get haircuts and manicures. Each child will also receive a shoe gift card from the Tzu Chi Foundation and a new age-appropriate book from Monrovia Reads. There will be dental screenings by the USC School of Dentistry, vision screenings by the Western University College of Optometry, and a ceramic art project with Paint N Play.
The entire community shares in this annual effort. Many of the costs of backpacks, clothing and supplies are covered by grants from major sponsors, including Vons Foundation and others. To date, however, this year’s sponsorships are down, making individual donations even more critical. While donations of school supplies are welcome, monetary contributions allow the Center to buy much more efficiently. Just $50 helps to provide a uniform, socks, underwear, a new backpack and school supplies for one child. Checks may be mailed to Foothill Unity Center, Back to School Program, 415 West Chestnut Avenue, Monrovia, California, 91016. Donations can also be made securely online at www.foothillunitycenter.org. School supplies may be dropped into one of sixty collection barrels in stores and offices including Duarte City Hall. Lists of collection sites, Back to School items needed and volunteer opportunities can be found on our website www.foothillunitycenter.org, or by visiting or calling the Center at (626) 358-3486.
Foothill Unity Center, Inc. has been serving low-income families and those in crisis for over 31 years. Founded in 1980 in a church closet to provide food to a few hungry families, the Center has become the major source of food, health services and crisis assistance for over 4,600 low-income families in its service area: Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale.
The Center acts as a lifeline for very low income individuals and families who are struggling to survive. Clients are often unemployed, employed at wages too low to provide for their families, on welfare, or facing a temporary crisis. It also serves seniors, homeless, disabled, emancipated foster youth, victims of domestic violence, and students on limited incomes. For the past nine years, incredibly an average of 95% of every dollar donated has gone to client programs. Your help is needed now.
