HOMELESS
CHILDREN ARE “KINGS AND QUEENS” FOR A DAY AT
THE LOS ANGELES MISSION
Dole
Fresh Vegetables served up a giant “Bottomless Bowl
of Salad” with the help of celebrities and volunteers. (Los
Angeles California) --- August 23, 2003
Peals
of laughter filled the air as children slid down
a huge inflatable slide at the Los Angeles Mission’s
3rd Annual End of Summer Block Party. The slide – along
with a dozen other carnival activities – helped
create a fun and safe atmosphere for nearly 1,000
homeless children on this hot, sunny August afternoon.
With
the number of homeless families increasing, the Los
Angeles Mission continues to make an active effort
to reach out to the community by providing services
that will help make “back to school” a
little easier for kids. In addition to Cedar Sinai’s
Coach for Kids providing free immunizations at the
carnival, each child walked away with a brand new
backpack full of school supplies. Many homeless children
face excruciating instability in their daily lives.
Moving from shelter to shelter, experiencing strange
and infrequent meal times and a lack of supervision
aggravate their existence. By providing a brand new
backpack full of school supplies, the Mission takes
one worry off the children’s minds – and
the minds of their parents.
“We
know that giving a homeless child a backpack is not
a permanent fix to the problems they face,” says
Marshall McNott, president and CEO of the Los Angeles
Mission. “But it is an important gesture to
let them know that we care. The End of Summer Block
Party provides a safe place for them to come and
spend some time away from the harsh streets and experience
a day to simply be a kid.”
Celebrities*
were on hand with over a hundred other volunteers
to man game booths and to serve up hot dogs. Dole
Fresh Food’s giant “Bottomless Bowl of
Salad” joined the BBQ menu. The salad weighed
nearly one-half ton in all. (Now that’s a lot
of lettuce!) It took a crew of 10 people approximately
four hours to create and serve it. Dole’s new “Five-A-Day
the Color Way” program, instituted by the Produce
for Better Health Foundation, promotes consumption
of fruits and vegetables and other healthy eating
habits for kids. Parents of the children received
nutritional information during today’s event.
This is especially important as many of the kids
simply do not have nutritious and balanced diets.
Other
corporate funding for the event came from PacifiCare
Health Systems, one of the nation’s largest
consumer health organizations. PacifiCare serves
more than 3 million health plan members and approximately
9 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare
offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries
a variety of consumer-driven health care and life
insurance products. Currently more than 99 percent
of PacifiCare’s commercial health plan members
are enrolled in plans that have received Excellent
Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA). PacifiCare’s specialty operations
include behavioral health, dental and vision, and
complete pharmacy and medical management through
its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions.
More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is
available at www.pacificare.com.
For
over 50 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served
the people of Hope Central (known as Skid Row), providing
emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing,
as well as professional medical and dental services.
In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers
long-term residential rehabilitation programs through
its Urban Training Institute, including education,
job training, transitional housing and counseling.
*Celebrity
servers included:
Tyra Banks (Super model), Ken Howard (Crossing Jordan), Constance Zimmer, Ashley
Williams (Good Morning Miami), Jeremy Renner (S.W.A.T.), Penn Badgley (Do Over),
Courtney Peldon (Boston Public), Phillip Rhys (Nip/Tuck), John Silverman (The
Single Guy), Parker McKenna Posey (My Wife and Kids), Courtnee Draper (The
Bold and the Beautiful) and Apollonia (Purple Rain).
|
