For the sixth straight summer, a contingent of volunteers from America's Christian Credit Union (ACCU) has participated in the L.A. Dream Center's Back To School Bash, which took place this year on Saturday, August 15, at the Dream Center's main campus in Echo Park.
The centerpiece of this event is the distribution of backpacks, stocked with school supplies, to many hundreds of low-income schoolchildren within the Dream Center's service area in and around Los Angeles. Traditionally, between 2,000 and 3,000 kids receive new backpacks during this distribution event that has taken place every August since 2010. Following receipt of their new backpacks, children and their families have the opportunity to stay and take part in a variety of other activities, attractions, and services on the Dream Center campus, including a large water slide, carnival games, rock wall, petting zoo, free haircuts, health screening, dental checkups, and more.
At this year's Back to School Bash, ACCU employees and family members volunteered their time to help with the backpack distribution and to manage the Carnival Games activities that followed. "We are proud of our continuing partnership with the Dream Center, whose good works benefit so many of the at-risk residents of the community", said Mendell Thompson, ACCU's President and CEO.
Earlier this summer, in efforts to support the community as they prepare for back-to-school, ACCU employees partnered with Thirty-One Gift Bags and purchased cinch sacks for students at Neighborhood Homework House (NHH) in Azusa. Jennifer Hicks, Executive Director of NHH was ecstatic about the donation "I am very impressed with ACCU's commitment to the community, ACCU has become family to us over at Homework House and we are so happy to have them partnering with us." In addition, ACCU hosted Management Retreats for both the Glendora and Charter Oak Unified School Districts in their home office last month. ACCU was thankful for the opportunity to serve and celebrate the management teams as they prepared for their new school year. "I'm proud that so many of our staff members participate in this ministry and in these outreach efforts. The missions of these outreaches and of ACCU align with one another, and we are happy to play a part in providing services and resources to so many appreciative and underserved members of the community" exclaimed Thompson.