NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
8.12.2020
Contact:
Crystal Boutiette
Junior Achievement of SoCal
323-785-3557
cboutiette@jasocal.org
JASoCAL’s ‘Giving BACKpacks’ Campaign will provide 426 Aspire Academy elementary students with much needed school supplies.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Junior Achievement of Southern California (JASoCal) to equip children with much needed school supplies for at-home learning and provide JA virtual programming to the students of our community throughout the school year.
On August 13th & 14th, JASoCal will join the teachers of Aspire Antonio Maria Lugo Academy in Huntington Park, to distribute donated backpacks with school supplies to students. Thanks to the generosity of JA Giving BACKpacks corporate sponsors and individual donors, 426 TK–5th students will receive a free backpack filled with grade-appropriate supplies necessary for successful learning either at school or at home.
Major sponsors of the campaign include Leadership Partners, AIG Life & Retirement and Banc of California; Caring Partners, Beneficial State Bank and Preferred Bank; Gifts-In-Kind from American Honda Financial Services, Deloitte, Toyota.
“The JASoCal Giving BACKpacks campaign is the first of what we hope will become an annual event. This year, our goal has been to provide supplies for one entire school that we serve,” Eric Carlson explained. Carlson manages the JASoCal Giving BACKpacks Campaign and serves as Director of Development.
The back-to-school season is the second biggest shopping season. Families spend an average of $488 per household preparing for the first day of school.
“The current financial and health crises are disproportionately affecting the students we serve. With Los Angeles schools choosing distance learning for the start of the school year, it’s likely that families will face even more costs than usual. Our hope is to provide for the short term by helping ease the financial burden of basic school supply needs, and for the long term by providing our virtual Financial Literacy programs that reduce financial inequity, strengthen communities, and change lives”, Junior Achievement of SoCal President & CEO, Les McCabe, added.
Anyone interested in making a monetary donation to support this campaign and JA’s virtual programming can visit https://jasocal.org/event/ja-giving-backpacks/
About JASoCal:
Since 1954, non-profit organization, Junior Achievement (JA) of SoCal has been the leader in Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Work-Readiness education, inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JASoCal brings our local education and business communities together to invest in the success of K-12 students – the majority of which are considered socio-economically at-risk. With the support of nearly 4,000 volunteers, JASoCal provides relevant, hands-on learning experiences that connect what students learn in the classroom to the real-world and demonstrates how learning correlates to earning — knowledge critical to empowering students to own their economic success. Through a variety of programs and initiatives JASoCal is shaping the college and career-readiness conversation and playing an important role in Southern California’s economic development. Currently serving Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, JASoCal HQ and JA Finance Park is located at 6250 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068 To learn more visit www.jasocal.org and follow us on Twitter (@jasocalLA), Instagram (@JA_SOCAL) & Facebook (@JASoCal).
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