School Supplies Giveaway Deemed Success

Hundreds of backpacks distributed during school supplies giveaway

CATTHEDRAL CITY — “It was a hit,” exclaimed Jesse Borrego of the school supplies giveaway on Thursday. Borrego is a school resource officer and president of the Cathedral City Police Officers’ Association who organized a collection for school supplies.

About 800 children attended the event held in the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater where water slides/water jumpers, music and ice cream were plentiful.

Some 650 backpacks were distributed, Borrego told Uken Report. And temperatures spiked in the sun-soaked venue, about 1,000 ice cream treats were doled out, according to Borrego.

“It was a great event with tons of local organizations in attendance as well,” Borrego said. Some of those organizations included the Boys and Girls Club, Desert Recreation District, Chance Initiative, Riverside County Department of Social Services, and Palm Springs Unified School District.

The 4ShayJ Foundation distributed 180, Borrego said. The 4ShayJ Foundation was created in May, 2015, after the accidental death 19-year-old Shaun Jr. (ShayJ), the son of Shaun and Ginger Clark.  He lost his life March 31, 2015, in a skateboarding accident in which he was not wearing a safety helmet.

In addition to backpacks, other supplies collected included: pens, pencils, folders, notebooks, calculators, backpacks, scissors, glue sticks, paper, paperclips, rulers, paints, markers, crayons, highlighters, water bottles, hole punch, staplers, Kleenex, and lunch boxes.

Borrego said he started the effort because as a child growing up in a disadvantaged home, he understood “the struggles families have to go through for buying all school supplies.”