Monrovia's Unity Center Needs Help To Serve Students

Monrovia's Foothill Unity Center is looking for school supplies and funds to help equip low-income students going back to school in the fall. From the press release:

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. 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 register their children by Friday, July 29.

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 throughout the community. 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.

- Brad Haugaard