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Third Street Elementary School Children and Parents Preparing 1,500 Backpacks for Third Street Olympic Games Benefiting Homeless Children

Distribution to Classrooms – Monday, May 24 from 12 – 2:30 p.m. and Pep Rally Tuesday, June 1 from 1:15 – 1:45 p.m.

WHO: Third Street Elementary School 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Student Council members are visiting the younger students’ classrooms today to hand out 1,500 backpacks to be filled with new school supplies for homeless children in Los Angeles. The older students, who are preparing for the school’s third annual Third Street Olympic Games in Los Angeles Saturday June 5, 2010, are charged with motivating and educating the younger students as well as giving instructions for filling the backpacks. All students are asked to bring filled backpacks for entry into the Games. Parent volunteer organizers have been coaching the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders who will be discussing the power of leadership and community service with the younger students in the classrooms today.

WHAT: The Games, this year themed “Pass the Torch,” help raise awareness and gather school supplies for thousands of homeless children living in Los Angeles. In addition to filling 1,500 backpacks with new school supplies, event organizers aim to raise an additional $15,000 for "Friends of Third," a nonprofit organization that supplements under-funded programs at Third Street Elementary, one of many local public schools hit hard by California’s budget crisis.

WHERE: Third Street Elementary School at 201 South June Street, Los Angeles, 90004

WHEN: Monday, May 24 from 12 – 2:30 p.m. – 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students visit all classrooms to promote event with the students and hand out the backpacks for filling

Tuesday, June 1 from 1:15 – 1:45 p.m. – Pep rally for the school

Saturday, June 5 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Third Street Olympic Games

ADD INFO: The Third Street Olympic Games on Saturday, June 5 is a fun-filled family day that celebrates sports, community and giving. Students compete in a variety of events including relay races, obstacle courses and tug of war while friends and family members cheer from the sidelines.

 

The admission cost for students is a backpack or bag of new school supplies for donation to local homeless children. Schools on Wheels, a non-profit organization that provides one-on-one tutoring for underprivileged children in Los Angeles, will distribute the collected supplies to homeless children and those in need. All participating children get a “Pass the Torch” t-shirt and a complementary lunch. Parents and guests pay $10 at the door and can purchase a t-shirt to help raise money for the school.

The title sponsor is GNC, the country’s largest specialty retailer of nutritional products, which donated the backpacks, and Whole Foods Market Third & Fairfax and Disney / ABC Television Group have also signed on as sponsors. The Whole Foods Market Third and Fairfax will provide a variety of all-natural foods for a family-style BBQ that volunteer parents will cook and serve.

MEDIA CONTACT: Karin Olsen / AMAZONpr / 310-497-0052 / karin@amazonpr.com

Press Release