The Los Angeles Galaxy Foundation, The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation
and The Home Depot announced today that Stephen C. Foster Elementary School in
Compton, Calif., is the winner of the 2010 Reading Garden Challenge and as a
result will have a Reading Garden built on the campus of their
school.
Elementary schools from Carson,
Compton, Gardena, Long Beach, Lomita, Lynwood, Torrance and the Beach cities’
had the opportunity to participate in the 2010 Reading Garden Challenge. The Challenge was
supported by the National Education Association’s (NEA) Lorax Student Earth Day
and encouraged schools and students (grades K-5) to focus on Earth Day by
reading Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and answering the Challenge Questions for the
opportunity to have a Reading Garden built at their school.
There will be four days of
activities at Stephen C. Foster
Elementary School with preparations
beginning on Monday, April 19 with an Earth Day Planting clinic for students
with seeds donated by the America the Beautiful Fund. On
Tuesday, April 20, there will be a clinic for students to paint pots and build
birdhouses to be displayed in the Reading Garden. Meanwhile, on Wednesday April 21,
supplies and materials will be delivered and the final preparations completed
for the Reading
Garden build.
The week will culminate, on Earth
Day, Thursday, April 22, with more than 80 volunteers from the LA Galaxy, Home
Depot stores throughout the area, The Home Depot Center, and the NEA along with
Stephen
C. Foster Elementary
School students building planters, installing arches
and benches and planting flowers.
“We are pleased to once again
partner with The Home Depot and The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation to
build a reading garden at Stephen C.
Foster Elementary School and help instill and
encourage a lifelong joy of reading for the students,” said Gloria King, Director of the LA Galaxy Foundation.
“We are thrilled to have the NEA join us for this year’s Reading Challenge and
build.”
The Reading Garden is funded with proceeds from the
2009 How Suite It Is! fundraiser and a generous donation from The Home Depot.
"The Home Depot recognizes and
embraces a strong commitment to invest in children. Our partnership again this
year with Los Angeles Galaxy Foundation and The Home Depot Center Charitable
Foundation in building this reading garden is one way we are delivering on that
promise, working to help more children grow and learn together in a safe,
healthy environment," said Sherry Caraway, Community Affairs Manager of The Home
Depot. "We are proud of our associates who have spent hundreds of volunteer
hours working to revitalize Stephen C.
Foster Elementary School. They have made an
impact that will be felt by children for generations to
come."
Additional contributions were made
by the America the Beautiful
Fund, who donated seeds for the Earth Day Planting Clinic, the National
Education Association’s Lorax Student Earth Day, and Panera Bread Carson and
Torrance.
On Saturday, August 28, the Los
Angeles Galaxy Foundation and The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation will
host the 2010 How Suite It Is! fundraiser prior to the Galaxy’s home game
against the Kansas City Wizards to raise funds for additional reading gardens.
About
Los Angeles
Galaxy Foundation:
The LA
Galaxy Foundation is dedicated to assisting the community in which we live and
work. The Galaxy Foundation strives to support and create educational, health
and recreational activities and programs for children, with a specific focus on
aiding disadvantaged and at-risk youth. Through fundraisers, programming and
partnerships with committed organizations, the Galaxy Foundation is working to
improve the lives of youth and make a positive impact in the
community.
About
The Home
Depot Center Charitable
Foundation
The Home
Depot Center Charitable Foundation was established to provide financial and
in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs which
improve the lives of young people in the Greater Southern California region. The
Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation has given more than $500,000 to youth
organizations since The Home Depot Center opened in
2003.
About
The Home Depot:
As the world’s largest home improvement
retailer, The Home Depot embraces its role as a leader in social responsibility
and celebrates its long-standing commitment to volunteerism. The Home Depot’s
associate volunteer program, Team Depot, was formalized in 1992 as a way to
support the communities where the associates live and work. By providing
expert advice, tools and financial assistance, The Home Depot associates are
helping meet the critical needs in the communities.
