TARZANA : Book Bags Given to Schoolchildren

Elinor Severson, who volunteers for a charitable organization, received for her efforts a special reward--joy on the faces of needy Tarzana Elementary School children as they received donated school book bags full of school and hygienic supplies.

“There is nothing better than a smile on a child’s face when they are getting something of their own,” she said.

On Friday, Severson and several other volunteers handed out 43 book bags in a program sponsored by the Assistance League of the San Fernando Valley.

The supplies and bags will come in handy, said Roberta MacAdam, the school’s principal.

“A lot of the children who go here don’t have any materials to do their homework,” she said. “And a lot of the children live in crowded apartments, and they don’t have any place at home to put things, and this gives them someplace to put all their possessions.”

The Assistance League last December passed out 50 jackets at the school.

“Some of the parents started crying because the kids didn’t have jackets, and they didn’t have the money to buy them for them,” MacAdam said. “They were so grateful.”

The Assistance League, which is affiliated with the Guild of National Assistance League, also passes out stuffed bears to children whose families are troubled by domestic violence, according to Margaret Hampton, who handles publicity for the local chapter.

The group is seeking donations of sweat suits, beach thongs and other items that are handed out to patients at two area hospitals, she said.