Last Saturday the American Legion Post 155 hosted their first backpack event for the students in the community. Over 500 backpacks were provided by the sponsors and were given away throughout the day fully supplied with pens, pencils, note pads, paper, erasers, and highlighters. Matthew Hernandez of One-Stop Print Shop and Ashley Jara of Empire Balloons were the main sponsors of this event and combined their efforts to promote and organize the activities. Another sponsor was the San Bernardino Valley College Psychiatric Technology Program which assisted by providing 75 of the backpacks.
In addition to the giveaway, Hernandez and Jara recruited 22 local vendors and craft enthusiasts to display their talents and offer great deals for the students who attended with their families. Food and music were a-plenty, and the event was attended by several dignitaries including Bob Levine, Commander of the American Legion, Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr, Representative Maha Rizvi from the office of Assembly Member Eloise Reyes-Gomez, and Council Members Kelly Chastain and Dr.G.
“This event was for the community,” explained Ashley Jara who helped organize this event and welcomed the students as they arrived to pick up their new backpacks. She continued to explain, “All students in the area were invited to come.” From observing a large number of students, one could easily notice the age range varied greatly from kindergarten to high school. Matthew Hernandez added, “Most of the students came from Colton, Rialto, and San Bernardino.”
The City of Colton is fortunate to have organizations like the American Legion and local businesses, such as One-Stop Print Shop and Empire Balloons, team up to offer support to our young population. From the success of this event, there is no doubt this outreach to the community will continue to grow in size and popularity. Congratulations on this successful community event.
For more information about CITY TALK, various community groups, and events, Colton history, the trash clean-up project, the G-Team, prayer list, history briefs, Veteran Spotlight, Church Spotlight, Business Spotlight, U.S. Flag Watch, neighborhood meetings, community projects, or the online live-stream programs, contact Dr.G @ 909-213-3730. Questions and comments are always welcome.