Dressed up and ready to go to school

After waiting at the corner of 4th Street and Towne Avenue for 96 hours and five minutes, Quentella Robinson and her two children were among the first to enter when the gates opened Monday morning -- while behind them stood about 4,500 people in a line stretching three blocks.

The back-to-school giveaway at the Fred Jordan Mission in downtown Los Angeles was the 19th annual event, and about $1 million worth of donated name-brand clothing and school supplies were handed out, including about 4,000 pairs of shoes.

For Robinson, 30, who made the three-hour drive from Bakersfield, it was her sixth year coming to the giveaway that helps her son and daughter to be equipped for school.

“The only reason I do it is for my kids,” Robinson said. “When it’s all said and done, my kids leave out of here and they feel happy.”

The event gives her daughter, Marcella, 9, some peace of mind about class supplies.

“What if we need to ask the teacher, and they don’t have it?” Marcella said. “We could have it in our backpack.” The giveaway starts with a station where everyone is treated to an In-N-Out hamburger, chips and a soda. About 200 volunteers, mostly high school and college students, help run the event. After children are measured they stand in line to receive an outfit or two.

“The good stuff is good,” said Ashlee Johnson, 24, a volunteer from Citrus College who lives in Monrovia. “It’s better clothing than I have.”

She added: “I can’t even walk into a Lucky Brand store.”

Children also get new shoes and a bag of personal care supplies, such as soap and towels, before moving on to the Paul Mitchell stand for a free haircut.

Then they lug their new possessions home, all finished in about 30 minutes.

Willie Jordan, president of the Fred Jordan Mission, a nonprofit, faith-based organization started by her husband in 1944 (he died in 1988), established the giveaway program.

One of nine children, she moved to Los Angeles from Arkansas with her family when she was 3. She remembered one day having to go to school barefoot. The teacher looked down at her feet and asked, “Willie, where are your shoes?”

“I can remember how humiliated I felt, and I thought, ‘Why should these kids feel that humiliation?’ ” Jordan said.

And so she started the back-to-school giveaway. The first year was a disaster, with barely enough supplies for 100 children. But after Foot Locker signed on, sponsors started to appear and the annual giveaway grew exponentially.

“They give you clothes you probably wanted and here they’ve got it, and shoes you like,” Marcella said.

Juana Gomez, 16, of South Los Angeles arrived Saturday night with 27 family members -- seven sisters, three stepsisters, 10 nephews and seven nieces. They camped out on cardboard boxes spread over the sidewalk, switching off shifts in the car.

“It’s cool,” she said. “A lot of people need shoes. That’s why they come here.”

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also made an appearance. This is a “day of giving kids school supplies and the sense of community that comes with giving,” he said.

But for Cheryl Yarbrough, 41, who came from Watts with her 6-year-old autistic son, Myson Lesane, the highlight of the day was the receiving.

“It really means that no matter how hard it gets in life, there’s always people to help,” Yarbrough said.

Yarbrough, unemployed for the last three years, happily walked out of the mission with four bags around her wrist.

Myson, wearing a pair of black Nike runners he got at last year’s giveaway, received a new pair of Air Jordan Retro 4 shoes, the choice of many in line.

“I don’t believe this is a handout,” Yarbrough said, smiling widely. “It’s a hand up.”

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tami.abdollah@latimes.com