1,400 families served by Unity Center

Nearly 1,400 Foothill Unity Center low-income families, including more than 1,700 children, received a helping of cheer at the Center’s 21st Annual Holiday Distribution, held Saturday and Monday, December 21 and 23.

L-r: Volunteers Jenny Pampano, Sylvia Domotor, Alex Zucco and Zoe Zucco show off the dessert choices at Foothill Unity Center’s Holiday Distribution at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.

Families and individuals took home holiday food boxes sized by number of people in the family, with meat and the makings for a festive holiday dinner. Some 600-700 volunteers worked the program, from planning and preparation to final cleanup. Each client was personally escorted through the distribution by a dedicated cart volunteer.

Simplicity Bank, Volunteer Center of the San Gabriel Valley and The Gas Co. all presented $1,000 checks to the Center in support of the event.

Families await the opening of Foothill Unity Center’s Holiday Distribution at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.

On the Saturday distribution at the Arboretum, reserved for families with children, each family also took home an opaque bag pre-packed with new toys and clothing for each child. The presents are donated via the Center’s Adopt an Angel program, where individuals and groups adopt paper angels hand-decorated by volunteers from schools, churches and other groups. Each angel lists a child’s gift wishes. “We don’t give the presents directly to the children,” says Center Executive Director Betty McWilliams.

Volunteer cart escorts await their next families at Foothill Unity Center’s Holiday Distribution at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.

“Each family’s gifts are gathered in an opaque bag and given to the parents to wrap and give as part of their own holiday traditions.” Ducommun Aero Structures also donated 35 bicycles to be raffled at the distribution, and Simply Help gave gifts to each child. Children also enjoyed fun activities, including a holiday craft project with the help of elves from Paint ‘n Play, and had their pictures taken with Santa courtesy LA PartyWorks, with frames provided by the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women.

While a majority of the Center’s clients are employed, all have incomes at or below 150% of the National Poverty Level. This year, that’s $1,436 per month for one person and $2,944 a month for a family of four.

A client guest makes the rounds of the food tables at Foothill Unity Center’s Holiday Distribution at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.

“The holidays are an especially difficult time for families who fight hunger every day,” says Center Executive Director Betty McWilliams. “The difficult economy and cuts in the CalFresh food stamp program are swelling the ranks of local people who need help to feed their families. Community support is more vital than ever to help them and let them know that their neighbors really do care.”

Funds in support of the Center’s programs may be donated securely online at foothillunitycenter.org. Food and checks may be dropped off weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at either Center location: 415 W. Chestnut Ave. in Monrovia or 191 N. Oak Ave. in Pasadena.

Just part of a year-long hunger fight

The Holiday Distribution is only one aspect of the Center’s year-round Family Food Program, which provided over 3.6 million pounds of groceries to food-insecure clients last year. Each month, clients receive a grocery cart of food items, sized by number of people in the family to supplement needs for 7-10 days. They may return to pick up perishable food items once a week, including fresh produce, dairy and baked goods. The Center also delivers monthly food packages to qualified homebound senior and disabled clients, and gives 50 to 60 substantial bag lunches (enough for about two days) three times a week to homeless or those who have no place to store or cook food. Its volunteer-run Pet Food Bank helped 726 families keep their pets last year.

The Center also provides referrals to over 100 organizations for crisis and housing assistance, employment counseling, and much more. Its Health Services Child Health Connection program connects children with urgent health care needs to free and low-cost care, helps uninsured clients enroll for low-cost insurance coverage, and conducts health screenings and education seminars. It also operates a Medical Outreach Clinic in partnership with the Community Health Alliance of Pasadena (ChapCare) providing health and dental care to homeless and uninsured adult clients.

About Foothill Unity Center

Founded in 1980, Foothill Unity Center is the primary provider of food, case management/crisis help, and access to health care resources across eleven San Gabriel Valley cities in Los Angeles County, California. As the federally designated Community Action Agency for the Foothill Area, we operate two locations, in Monrovia and Pasadena, serving clients in Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale. 77% of clients are at or below the National Poverty Level. The number of people served by the organization has more than tripled over the last five years, making community funding and volunteer support more critical than ever.