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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

LAPD’s Foothill Fund Fills Baskets for Needy

The Foothill Community Police Department’s annual drive to replenish its Needy Family Fund was successful again this year thanks to the generosity of the local business community, with Woodland Hills’ USI Insurance Services LLC leading the way in both monetary and material donations. “We rely solely on these donations for our Needy Family Fund,” said Sgt. Stephen Gomez, assistant officer in charge of the LAPD Foothill Community Relations Unit. “We scrape by for money, and that’s just the reality of it.” USI collected contributions from business clients around the region, including toys from Imperial Toy LLC in North Hills and cosmetics products from Milani Cosmetics in downtown Los Angeles and Paul Mitchell, which operates a warehouse in Santa Clarita. Items such as nail polish, lipstick and makeup bags are a particularly big hit with recipients, Gomez noted. “The girls in foster care who get the makeup absolutely love it,” he said. “We find a good audience for the donations.” USI also has collected at least $5,700 in cash so far, he added, with more on the way. Though Foothill Community Relations conducts outreach events for Pacoima and Lakeview Terrace residents throughout the year, the holiday season is primetime for collecting charitable contributions from donors. “We take anything, because there’s such a need for it,” Gomez said. “We have a booster association that helps us raise money for other events, but without the support of businesses like USI, we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of our outreach.” The division also creates gift baskets with canned goods and essentials to give to designated families identified through local schools and service organizations. This year, the baskets contained gift cards to Food 4 Less as well. “When people don’t know where to look, they look to the police department,” Gomez said. “I didn’t realize the impact of this project until I started working here.” Dole Food Drive Dole Packaged Foods LLC, the Captain Planet Foundation and Food Share Inc. joined forces this holiday season to sponsor a food drive in Ventura County schools. The project was titled the “Spirit of Giving,” named after Dole’s “Spirit of Hawaii” float in the 2017 Tournament of Roses parade. While Dole has contributed to Ventura County Food Share in the past, this was the first year the company had organized such a campaign on the nonprofit’s behalf, said Dole and Food Share spokeswoman Briana Kallas. “This was a very natural partnership between Dole and Ventura County Food Share,” she said. “Both emphasize healthy nutrition and nutrition education in their efforts.” Thirteen elementary, middle and high schools took part in the three-week food drive. They were able to collect just under 13,000 pounds in total, Kallas said. Dos Caminos Elementary School and Las Colinas Middle School in Camarillo generated the most donations among elementary and middle schools, while Fillmore High School was the leading high school contributor. As a reward for helping to solve hunger locally, the six top-contributing elementary schools will receive “learning gardens” planted by the Captain Planet Foundation, while Las Colinas and Fillmore High will each receive $1,000 toward their science programs. Notably, several of the schools that collected the most donations were located in the county’s most impoverished areas, Kallas said. “A lot of them come from the parts of Ventura County that have the highest rates of food insecurity,” she said. “It was kind of cool to see that the groups that experience the most difficulty at times are the ones that also give the most.” The program is off to a good start, Kallas added, but the companies expect next season to be even more successful. “A lot of the schools had already planned their holiday charity project, so our goal will be to grow the drive next year,” she said. Charity of Choice The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley has been named sole “charity of choice” by the Los Angeles Italian American Golf Association. “We are so pleased to select the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley to be our long-term beneficiary,” Jack Impellizzeri, president of the association, said in a prepared statement. The decision marks the first time in the golf group’s 30-year history that one organization alone has been awarded the designation, he added. As the charity of choice, the Boys & Girls Club will be entitled to the proceeds from the association’s annual tournaments. Funds will be directed toward sustaining the Club’s before- and after-school programs, summer camps and other initiatives. Staff Reporter Helen Floersh can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].

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