By Hayden FRANKLIN

Getting kids ready for school is just one thing HALA is known for.

 On Saturday Home Again LA and the Kiwanis Club of Glendale partnered to hold their fourth annual shopping spree event. The shopping spree provides underprivileged children and their families the tools needed to prepare for the upcoming school year. This preparation includes money to shop for school supplies, backpacks, clothing and whatever else is needed in anticipation of the school year.

According to HALA CEO Albert Hernandez, the youth who participated in the shopping spree currently living in HALA’s emergency shelter and from HALA’s low-income housing programs. 

As in years past, the event was held at the Target department store in the Glendale Galleria from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. An estimated 20 families who had registered for the event online lined up outside the Target entrance. The kids and their families (although parents and/or guardians were not required to attend) were then paired with a Kiwanis Club volunteer who was armed with a $100 Target gift card to spend with the youngsters. Once inside the store kids and their Kiwanis volunteers were free to shop keeping within their $100 spending limit. The volunteers helped the kids make decisions about what kind of supplies they might need. Many came prepared with back-to-school lists of their own prompting one volunteer to note, “[My child] was really prepared; he came in knowing exactly what he needed and then he went and got it.”

Hernandez is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Glendale. He was one of the creators of the shopping spree and spoke on the creation of the event, which started in 2020 during COVID when many families were struggling due to lockdown restrictions.

“The idea is that Kiwanis helps kids prepare and choose things that will help them in school,” he said. He added the youth are referred by the many case managers HALA has on staff. “We try to identify the 25 youth from the families who are facing the most difficulty with finances, perhaps recently unhoused with no household income.” 

On Saturday, with any leftover money they had some of the children chose small gifts for their parents.

When talking about the impact of the shopping spree on families Hernandez said that aside from the obvious material aid it gives kids they also get to build relationships with the Kiwanis volunteers as they go about shopping and talking together.

“It builds positive reinforcement for them,” Hernandez said.

This was apparent as by the end of the event kids were laughing and obviously enjoying their time with the volunteers. As they began to check out many of the children hugged their volunteers goodbye.

The positive effect of the event on the parents was also evident. Gabby, a parent of one of the shoppers, expressed the gratitude she and her son had for the shopping spree. She explained she was in the process of moving and the shopping spree served as a welcome reminder that the school year is approaching and she needed to prepare her son. The shopping spree not only was a welcome reminder but also helped with the rising costs of preparing her child for school.

For the past four years Home Again LA has asked the Glendale Kiwanis to subsidize this program through its Glendale Kiwanis Foundation. Thankfully each year the Kiwanians have approved this request.

“We hope to continue this event for many, many years,” said Hernandez. “It’s a great event that brings together the volunteers from Glendale Kiwanis and the children from low-income families in Glendale for a morning of shopping. The premise is that Kiwanians spend quality time with their students, go shopping and during that shopping actually motivate and inspire the children to do well in school this new year. These are children who have recently or are still experiencing homelessness so this hour or two is magical. It brings two groups together to lift the spirits of the children and remind them that the sky is not the limit … it’s just the beginning.”