GCC hosts school-supply collection drive for homeless children

For the eighth straight year, Glendale Community College is hosting a two-month drive to collect school supplies for homeless children in Los Angeles.

College officials said it’s part of the school’s way to honor 9/11 victims and first responders by participating in a positive service to others in what is known as the Sept. 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Last week, the college launched its most recent drive, and officials plan to collect supplies through the end of September, said Hoover Zariani, manager of the Multicultural and Community Engagement Center on campus.

All donations of supplies, including backpacks, crayons, markers, pens, notebooks, staplers, binders and erasers, will be donated to School on Wheels, a nonprofit that serves thousands of homeless youth with supplies and free tutoring services.

“Last year I think was our best year,” Zariani said. “We had about 65 full backpacks full of supplies.”

In years prior, the college collected, on average, about 50 backpacks filled with supplies, but Zariani said he is aiming for an ambitious number this year and hopes to collect 100 backpacks, he said.

Interested donors don’t have to donate backpacks with supplies, he added. A small donation of a box of crayons or pens will go a long way.

“It just means they can serve more kids,” he said of School on Wheels. “[Students] always need notebooks and rulers and things. As they need them, they provide it for them. It’s something that lasts beyond the first week of school.”

Typically, Zariani will reach out to faculty and staff and, in turn, they will let Glendale Community College students know about the drive. In some cases, faculty and staff donates cash, and the money goes toward purchasing supplies, he said.

Donors can arrange to drop off school supplies by emailing Zariani at hzariani@glendale.edu or calling (818) 240-1000, Ext. 5580.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan