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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

More than 1.5 million homeless children will attend public school in America this year – 16,000 of them live right here in the greater Los Angeles area – and most of them don't have a backpack.

Which is why, today, we're partnering with Tony Sellars and Feed the Children (feedthechildren.org), to get "our" homeless kids backpacks for school this year – trucks have already made deliveries to San Bernardino and Riverside, and soon will be making deliveries to Ontario and Orange County.

Most of these kids don't have the basic tools to succeed in school, and these backpacks at least put them on an equal footing with their classmates, allowing them to feel just like everyone else and not "different".

Teachers tell us that kids without backpacks have less self-esteem and are less attentive, which of course, leads to lower grades. These kids don't have their own room or anyplace to store their belongings, so the backpack becomes their lifeline. And, many times they have to wash themselves in the school bathroom to be presentable, and the personal care items in the backpack help to do that.

For your gift of $100, you can provide 5 homeless children with a new backpack filled with age-appropriate things like school supplies, personal care items, and even snacks. $500 provides enough backpacks for an entire classroom. Call now, (877) 714-5437, or give online at kkla.com, just click on the "Feed The Children" banner.

Backpacks include 1) School items: notebooks, folders, pens and pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, glue stick, ruler, highlighter, calculator. 2) Hygiene items: comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, storage bag. And 3) Food items: trail mix, nuts and berries, cereal, cookies, crackers, fruit bars, and granola bars.