Photos from previous year's event.
Free haircuts, backpacks, manicures and clothes were provided for more than 1,000 children Tuesday at the Santa Anita Park Racetrack as part of Foothill Unity Center’s 18th Annual Back to School event.
More than 600 volunteers partnered with business owners and community members who helped the kids through the event activities, including looking through aisles of free clothes to get the right size and lining up for free haircuts and manicures.
Free medical screenings were provided as well as a free lunch and snacks provided by local Monrovian Family Restaurant staff and Panda Restaurant Group.
Students from USC, Citrus College, Western University, Northwest University and the Tzu Chi Foundation helped provide the free haircuts and screenings. A number of other colleges and universities also sent representatives to provide information about financial aid and scholarships.
Foothill Unity Center conducts the activity annually to relieve children and their families of some of the stress that normally comes with the first day of school, especially for low-income families. The event aims to help youngsters feel confident the first day of school because they arrive armed with what they need to fit in and succeed. Foothill Unity believes that giving these children what they need can have a huge impact in their self-confidence as well as their willingness to learn.
Founded in 1980, Foothill Unity Center is the primary provider of food, case management/crisis help, and access to health care resources across 11 San Gabriel Valley cities. The center is the federally designated Community Action Agency for the Foothill Area, and operates at two locations, in Monrovia and Pasadena, serving clients in Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale.
Seventy-nine percent of the center’s clients are at or below the National Poverty Level.
For more about Foothill Unity, see: http://foothillunitycenter.org/
