Back-to-school shopping spree helps give kids self-confidence
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Back-to-school shopping means the new school year is just around the corner.

It's a chance for youngsters to find the latest fashions and a chance for parents to take advantage of sale prices.

But for some local students, clothes shopping before the new school year isn't financially possible. That means they're headed back to class in clothing that may no longer fit a growing body and shoes that may be too tight.

Together with clothing megastore Mervyn's, the Camarillo-Somis/Pleasant Valley Lions Club plans to outfit more than 40 local children ages 5 to 18 during an Aug. 25 back to school shopping spree at the Mervyn's store in Oxnard.

"It's terrific," said the event's chairman and Lions Club member George Graham. "The kids are wide-eyed and happy, and we have a lot of Lions and Lions' wives who love to do it."

Graham said the local service organization has hosted the shopping spree for the past eight years and finances the $5,000 needed to clothe the students selected by officials with the Pleasant Valley and Somis school districts and the RAIN Project Transitional Living Center in Camarillo. The store also offers discounts on their selection of clothing.

Graham said he took over running the shopping spree from longtime event chair Mark Laufbaum, a former Lions member who died earlier this year.

Laura Welbourn, an education services coordinator with the Ventura County Office of Education, said the children selected qualify as homeless under the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act.

The federal law defines homeless children as those living in shelters, multifamily homes, motel rooms and other transient living conditions.

Welbourn said most of the youth who participate in the shopping spree wouldn't otherwise have the money to buy clothing staples such as underwear, socks and shoes.

Aside from the basics, the money is also used to buy school uniforms and other new clothes for school.

"It gives them a sense that they fit in with their peers," Welbourn said. "It gives them a leg up when they start back at school that they wouldn't otherwise have had."

Following the morning shopping spree, McDonald's restaurant will provide breakfast for the youngsters.

To donate to the shopping spree, call (818) 597-2555.