School zone

Back-to-school nightmare

For some students, the first day of school marks more than the onset of 10 months of earlier bedtimes and algebra homework.

For the more than 62 percent of Pasadena Unified School District students who are eligible for subsidized lunches based on their family’s limited incomes, the first few days of school represent a veritable nightmare.

“I would miss the first three days of school every year because we were poor and I was embarrassed not to have the things that I needed,” recalled a now avid volunteer for Foothill Unity Center’s back-to-school drive.

Each summer for the last 10 years Foothill Unity Center has organized a school supply and clothing drive for students whose families cannot afford these necessities. This year’s event is scheduled for Aug. 21 at Santa Anita Park racetrack, but with the deadline for supply collection fast approaching, its coordinators fear that they are still badly underfunded.

“We are expecting 50 percent more children than last year,” said Center Executive Director Joan Whitenack. “But right now, monetary donations are significantly down from then.”

This year more than 1,500 children from the Foothills Region have qualified for assistance — most of them by far from the Pasadena area. “We typically spend $50 per child, which is incredibly low considering the amount we provide,” Whitenack said. “But right now we don’t even have that.”
Foothill Unity Center’s drive provides clothes, underwear, shoes and school supplies to a population whom Whitenack describes as “the poorest of the poor in the San Gabriel Valley.”

“When donating to charity people often think of food and shelter as the only basic human needs. Too many people underestimate the importance of school supplies. When students feel inadequate, they don’t even have a chance to learn,” Whitenack added.

Although the Santa Anita event is by far the largest back-to-school drive in the area, other nonprofit organizations provide similar services.

Pasadena Tabernacle, the social services branch of the Salvation Army in Pasadena, has also scheduled a one-day giveaway on Aug. 23 for students whose families already receive their services. Of the 120 students who will receive school supply-filled backpacks, 20 slots are allotted annually for members of Families in Transition — a PUSD-based program for students in need.

Two additional Pasadena-based nonprofits involved in school supply distribution on a smaller scale are Friends In Deed and the Pasadena Assistance League. Friends In Deed will be collecting donations for the next two weeks to be distributed the week of Aug. 24.

The Pasadena Assistance League takes a more after-the-fact approach, supplying necessities to students whose teachers notice their unpreparedness once school has started.

All of these organizations are still accepting donations. To donate, call the Foothill Unity Center, (626) 358 3486; Pasadena Tabernacle at (626) 773 4404; or Friends In Deed at (626) 794 2402.

The ROAD to Success

Despite high levels of racial diversity in the San Gabriel Valley, the most prestigious career opportunities have historically been most available to the ethnically and socio-economically advantaged elite.

INROADS Inc., a highly successful nonprofit leadership program, strives to change this dynamic by placing ethnically diverse college students in competitive internships with the hope that their students will eventually rise to executive positions.

“These are not cushy ‘get-coffee-and-file’ internships,” said INROADS Regional Director Hector LaFarga. “Participating corporations are investing in our students and they expect them to perform.”
Founded in 1970, INROADS has placed more than 4,000 college students nationwide in salaried corporate internships — with most students earning between $12 and $29 per hour.

“In Southern California, the most actively participating corporations are Kaiser Permanente, Toyota and Mattel,” LaFarga said. “These companies continue to work with us because our students have always been talented and productive.”

To ensure that selected students succeed, INROADS requires them to attend mandatory summer training sessions before even setting foot inside an office. Applicants must also demonstrate academic aptitude — having GPAs no lower than 2.8 — and commit to work with INROADS for two consecutive summers after their senior year of high school and freshman year of college.

To highlight the need for multicultural representation in America’s Fortune 500 companies, INROADS has requested that government officials across California declare September “INROADS Month” — which would be concurrent with of the official start of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15.

Although Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard has yet to decide whether to do so, he does believe that INROADS addresses an important problem in Pasadena. “INROADS fills a critical need because statistics show that children of color have greater difficulty getting jobs,” Bogaard said.

Bogaard himself does not have an internship program in the mayor’s office, citing the inefficiency of mentoring interns for work more easily done by trained professionals.

“I think that companies that take the time to train interns are publicly spirited and laudable,” he said. “These companies are not only providing for the well-being of young people, but also potentially strengthening the economy in the long run.”