SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Over two days, the Assistance League of Sierra Foothills and the Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe helped 300 students from South Lake Tahoe schools be better prepared for the school year and winter. The selected students in grades K-12 received gift cards for shopping at Target and a new book from the Assistance League as part of its Operation School Bell program, and a new coat and socks from Kiwanis, items the club has provided for a number of years.
Operation School Bell co-chairs Cynthia Lowery and Andrea Kleinbardt spearheaded the program at school districts throughout the county. The ladies and their team came to South Lake Tahoe for the distribution of gift cards and books at Target on Friday and Saturday. They had the help of USBank staff and Target staff as well to help the kids shop.
Lowery said the shopping event this weekend gives students self-confidence with their new purchases, as well as the desire to be at school.
In the past, the Assistance League worked with Kmart in South Lake Tahoe for the student clothing giveaway, but a void was left when Kmart closed. For the past three years, the chosen students received clothing from a JCPenney catalog. The group was excited to have this year’s event at Target, the retailer they also use on the West Slope.
Students in grades K-5 received an $80 gift card, those in grades 6-8 received a $100 gift card, and high schoolers received a $125 gift card.
Once the shopping trip was complete, the student chose a free book to take home before heading outside to the Kiwanis tables. Here, each student received a coat of their choice along with new socks.
The Kiwanis Coat Drive provides coats and socks, and sometimes other winter gear, each year for a list of selected local students. They had a large group of Kiwanians and school club volunteers to help hand out the items to the local kids.
Two sisters, Aliyah (a 7-year-old 2nd grader) and Mareaha Hygh (an 11-year-old 6th grader), enjoyed shopping with their older sister and mom, Alicia. Mareaha gave the volunteers hugs as she set off to fill their shopping cart.
The Assistance League of Sierra Foothills depends on community donations, grants, corporate sponsors, and two annual fundraisers to support the large amount of funds they need for El Dorado County students. They have received financial support from the El Dorado Community Foundation’s Give Tahoe and Tahoe Women’s Community Fund, Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra, among other nonprofits. In the spring, they hold a garden tour, and in the winter, Homes for the Holidays, a tour of festive decorated homes. For more information on the group, visit https://www.assistanceleague.org/sierra-foothills/.
For more information on the Kiwanis of Lake Tahoe club, visit https://www.kiwaniscluboflaketahoe.org/.
