TEMECULA, Calif. – (August 2024) – With the sun setting on Summer break, many students in the Inland Empire region found themselves back in class starting Wednesday, August 14. Thanks to the efforts of Murrieta Salvation Army branch and local businesses including Pechanga Resort Casino, 171 deserving kids headed through their schools’ doors with new clothes, shoes, backpacks, and more as part of the 26th Annual Child Spree program.
Kasidy Cabrera and her six year old daughter lined up with hundreds of other children and parents outside of the Temecula JCPenney at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 3. Kasidy gripped her daughter’s hand tightly, shedding a few tears as she recounted how much the gift of the shopping spree will help her family this year. The family of four narrowly escaped with only the clothes on their backs from an early morning house fire several months ago. The family’s dogs were saved. Everything else was destroyed.
“We ran out of the house with no shoes on, no nothing. We were in PJs. It happened in the middle of the night. Waking up the next morning and thinking, ‘We don’t have all these things, the necessities you don’t have access to every day is wild,’” said Cabrera. “Whether you’re struggling financially or going through something like our situation, knowing there’s people willing to help, it means a lot.”
“More than 100 community volunteers came to help the 171 children who were assisted in this year’s Child Spree event at JCPenney at the Temecula Promenade,” said Major James Sullivan of the Murrieta Corps of the Salvation Army. “More than half of our volunteers were from Pechanga Resort. Each child received a gift card for $125 of new school clothing and shoes, plus a new backpack filled with school supplies, to be prepared for the new school year. Pechanga is one of the key sponsors to this important event.”
When the store’s doors opened to the special group of shoppers, kids took their $125 gift cards, walking alongside their moms or dads and one of 38 Pechanga volunteers to pick new clothes and shoes. Pechanga’s $7,000 gift to the Salvation Army made the event benefitting families like Kasidy’s and so many more possible.
After leaving the department store with their new threads, the children then made their way over to pick a backpack of their choice filled with back-to-school supplies as well as books to bring home.
Learning and behavior experts say wearing newer and good-fitting cloths can make all the difference for kids. Not only do they feel better about themselves, they feel more confident and comfortable and often perform better in school.
Even more Pechanga Resort Casino Team Members also got into the back-to-school giving spirit. They collectively donated 110 backpacks and hundreds of school supplies such as pencils, highlighters, erasers, binders and more to Michelle’s Place, a major cancer resource center for the Inland Empire. Pechanga volunteers distributed the supplies to kids and families on Thursday, August 9. Kids receiving the backpacks live in households in which an adult currently receives cancer treatment. Parents say with all they have going on, knowing organizations such as Pechanga are out there that can alleviate even one thing from their plate while they’re fighting for their lives is a huge blessing.
Pechanga Team Members contributed so many backpacks in fact, that Michelle’s Place could not take all of them. The extras – 60 backpacks and a pallet of school supplies – were picked up by representatives of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, located in rural northern San Diego County, for their youth as they start the school year.