LA HABRA : Youngsters Cheered by New Clothes

Hand-me-downs that never quite fit were all that Denise Borja ever wore.

That is, until Tuesday, when the 5-year-old set aside her old garments to sport brand new duds. She was among 15 needy La Habra children to be treated to a shopping spree at Mervyn’s Department Store in Fullerton.

The Kiwanis Club of La Habra spent about $100 on each child for new shoes, dresses, pants, shirts, underwear and backpacks during its second annual “Back-to-School” shopping spree.

The children’s parents said that since they were contacted by the Kiwanis Club about the shopping event a few days ago, their kids had been eagerly anticipating the event.

“Denise couldn’t wait for this day to come,” her mother, Gracia Borja, said as she watched her daughter smile and twirl around in her new dress. “She always gets excited about secondhand clothes, but look at her now.”

Most of the children will attend kindergarten when school starts next week, Kiwanis member Helen McMillan said. “Children all want new clothes for school just like anybody else does.”

McMillan runs the Kiwanis thrift shop on La Habra Boulevard, which raises about $6,000 a year. The money is used for the shopping spree and other projects such as scholarships that benefit La Habra’s needy youth, she said.

Kiwanis President Pat Rountree said the shopping spree gives the children, whose parents cannot afford to buy them new clothes, “a nice start for the school year. It makes them feel special.”

Mary Cruz Lopez, 5, clutched a pair of multicolored, polka-dotted sneakers as a Mervyn’s salesclerk laced a pair of L.A. Gear high-tops for her to try on.

The shoes completed her wardrobe, which consisted of Beauty and the Beast T-shirts, jeans and sweats. “I like this,” she said.

Her mother, Beatriz Lopez, was thankful for her daughter’s gifts. “This is such a marvelous childhood experience,” she said in Spanish. “It’s so great and, more than anything else, it’s a great help.”

John Deloach, 3, enthusiastically showed his mother, Andrea Rickard, all the Barney the dinosaur clothing he got. “Look at this, mom,” he said, holding up a Barney watch and Barney backpack.

Lisa Vofiades, whose 4-year-old daughter, Emily Jacobson, went on the shopping spree, said the experience was overwhelming.

“It’s real nice that someone reached out and got my kid something special,” Vofiades said. “I usually buy thrift shop clothes for her but this gives her some self-confidence. She likes to look pretty.”

Her daughter said she was going to wear her new pink dress on the first day of school.

Buying the children new clothes of their own “gives us the most inspirational feeling,” McMillan said. “Children are our priority Number 1.”