On Wednesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club partnered with Old Navy to provide clothing for local families and children registered as homeless in the William S. Hart Union High School District. 

Photo by Napoleon Provens

A line of over 100 families grew alongside the Old Navy in Stevenson Ranch Wednesday evening as families waited to pick up their shopping vouchers. The gift cards were valued at $100 per child, pulling from donations gathered by the Rotary Club over the course of six months.

“We started with a food truck fundraiser in the summer with the help of Stella Marquez-Barrett and the Summit HOA. We got a grant from Rotary District 5280 and the Newhall Rotary Community Foundation, and a donation from the Commercial Bank of California put the program over the top of it’s goal of $10,000,” said chairman of the Rotary Satellite Club, Jason Downs. 

Over a hundred families were contacted by district social workers for the event after being identified as homeless according to district definitions. This includes children and youth sharing children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship, those living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, shelters, and those with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for regular sleeping accommodation. 

According to Downs, there are about 769 children registered as homeless in the Hart District alone. 

Photo by Napoleon Provens

“We have students from other districts like from elementary schools here tonight as well, who may be younger siblings of those homeless children in the Hart District,” said Hart District social worker Elizabeth Orozco. “These are families that at the beginning of the school year social workers identified as being homeless.”

Orozco was one of the main social workers with the district who worked with the Rotary Club the past six months to make the event possible. 

“One of the things we’re getting a lot is that students need clothes because now they’re physically coming back on campus and due to the pandemic many families lost their jobs,” said Orozco. 

Recognizing this need, social workers were able to work with the Rotary Club and community to provide clothing for students. 

“It was an overwhelming response, and that’s thanks to the social workers taking care of the students in our district,” said Downs. “Hopefully we can raise the same amount of money next year and do it again. We’re open to anything and really want this to be a preventative program.”

To learn more about the Santa Clarita Rotary Club, visit their website here.

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