In the early mornings of Saturday August 4th, the glass doors opened as children walked through with their shopping carts ready to take on back-to-school shopping. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Redlands-Riverside hosted their annual Back-to-School Shopping event. At 7 a.m. the doors of Kohl’s at Citrus Plaza opened for around 115 children. The Boys and Girls Clubs was joined by Kiwanis Club of Redlands (the noon club), Kiwanis Club of San Bernardino, Redlands Elks Lodge and Aldi.
The service clubs participating donated money for this event and they gave every child a $100 gift card to use at Kohl’s to buy their school clothes. Right before the Kohl’s doors opened, the children were lined up on the side ready to be partnered with a volunteer from the service clubs to help them shop. Each volunteer was given specific details about their child to help them look for clothes and shoes for the upcoming school season. As 7 a.m. came around the children got their shopping carts and headed to the boys and girls section of the store. There were a lot of smiling faces as the children picked their clothes.
The girls tried on cute sweaters for fall while the boys were looking at t-shirts that had cool designs on them. On the other side of the store, the children sat down together to try on shoes. The atmosphere was lively, and it was such a precious sight to see these children smile with glee as they headed to the cashier to pay for their new clothes.
After the children were done shopping they were able to grab goodies from Aldi, a privately-owned grocery store, who also provided them with backpacks filled with school supplies and a $10 gift card to Aldi. When the children bundled their things together they were greeted by their parents outside. Mark Davis, vice president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Redlands-Riverside, said this is always a special occasion and how it has progressed.
“We now been doing this event for the last ten years altogether and its grown tremendously. We are now servicing 115 kids and we used to only do about 40-50 kids,” said Davis.
The children are members of the Boys & Girls Clubs. The organization chooses the kids who come from low-income backgrounds. Each service club that was present raised and donated money to help fund the children’s gift card used for shopping. Rick Foster, member of the Kiwanis Club of Redlands (noon) talked about how beneficial it is for organizations to work together to do something good for these children.
“We raise the money at events like ‘Run Through Redlands’ and for this event we donated $5,000 so it’s a $100 for 50 children to be able to go shopping and Kohls matches it by having a tax-free day and they give 15% off so it’s a cooperative event that works well for the kids.”
This is a special event for children to experience before they start school. It lifts their spirits and they always have a great time shopping. For many people this is an event they look forward to every year. The amount of money and dedication all the service clubs give to this event is inspirational and really touches everyone’s hearts. Eddie Hernandez, President of the Kiwanis of San Bernardino and Director of Teen Services at the Boys & Girls Clubs spoke about how important this event is for the children before they start school.
“This event is probably one of my favorite events with the Boys & Girls Clubs because its really about making sure that the kids are not only mentally and academically prepared for school but also prepare for school with new shoes and new clothes because it is important for the kids to feel prideful on that first day of school and it’s going to help with the success of their academics.”
As the school year is nearing it is important that children have good self-esteem. School can be tough for some children, so it is important they start school with a positive attitude. An event like this can really pump them full of energy and excitement. Thanks to the Boys & Girls Clubs and the various service clubs for hosting another successful event.
One of the goals of the Boys & Girls Clubs is to help all children from different backgrounds to reach their full potential academically and socially. They are serving the community well by hosting events like this and others to help children in need. We wish every child a successful school year and a round of applause for everyone involved for their dedication to the community.