Let’s Play Ball: LBUSD joins ball drive for Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach

LBUSD has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach for years, offering afterschool programs and different learning opportunities.

That’s wherefore it was “a slam dunk” (pun intended) for the Long Beach Unified School District to enactment successful the Press-Telegram’s Let’s Play Ball campaign, said Deborah DeDen, LBUSD Expanded Learning Program administrator.

“This is combining a large origin with a invaluable assemblage work project.”

Last week, the Press-Telegram launched its 4th yearly run asking readers to donate caller sports balls of each kinds, arsenic good arsenic money, for the clubs’ sports, fittingness and recreation programs. For the archetypal time, the Press-Telegram is being joined by the Grunion Gazette, its sister publication, successful this campaign.

And, besides for the time, LBUSD is participating successful the programme by offering bin postulation sites astatine respective of its schools wherever residents whitethorn driblet disconnected sports balls.

The territory volition besides big a shot donation drive-thru lawsuit from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 4 astatine Monroe K-8 School, 4400 Ladoga Ave., successful Lakewood.

“This is large quality for the shot drive,” said Don Rodriguez, CEO of the B&G Clubs of Long Beach. “Our 9 afterschool sites are conscionable arsenic overmuch successful request of sports instrumentality arsenic our standalone sites. Club members, wherever they are, walk a batch of clip extracurricular playing basketball, soccer, football, foursquare, volleyball and dodge ball.”

Rodriguez said that having clubs connected schoolhouse campuses gives families assurances that their children are safe, taken attraction of and inactive learning “as opposed to walking location and sitting successful beforehand of a TV until their guardians travel location aft work.”

Rodriguez said the club-LBUSD program, similar the nine standalone program, consists of 1 hr of homework assistance and tutoring, 1 hr of recreation/sports with the different clip filled with enrichment activities, similar STEM, art, Project Learn and Healthy Habits.

Press-Telegram readers donated much than 2,000 balls successful 2020, breaking the grounds from the twelvemonth before. The extremity this twelvemonth is to acceptable different record.

There are 2 ways you tin assistance with this year’s shot drive:

–You whitethorn driblet disconnected caller sports balls astatine assorted locations passim the Greater Long Beach area. A database of locations is disposable below. Thanks to the information of Big 5 Sporting Goods, you tin bargain balls astatine their locations astatine a 25 percent discount.

–You besides whitethorn bid donations online via Amazon and different web retailers and person balls ssent straight to the B&G Clubs of Long Beach main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd. You besides whitethorn Donate acquisition cards from stores to the clubs.

The Let’s Play Ball thrust volition extremity connected Dec. 17.

Here are each the LBUSD campuses accepting shot donations:

–Cleveland Elementary, 760 Hackett Ave., Lakewood.

–Chavez Elementary, 730 W. Third St.

–Jordan High School, 6500 Atlantic Ave.

–Holmes Elementary, 5020 Barlin Ave., Lakewood.

–Herrera Elementary, 1620 Temple Ave.

–Dooley Elementary, 5075 Long Beach Blvd.

–Tincher Preparatory, 1701 Petaluma Ave.

–Rogers Middle, 365 Monrovia Ave.

–Marshall Middle, 5870 E. Wardlow Road.

But due to the fact that of the Thanksgiving holiday, schools volition beryllium closed done Nov. 28. Bins volition beryllium disposable for shot driblet offs from Nov. 29 until Dec. 17.

Here are different locations wherever you whitethorn driblet disconnected caller sports balls:

–Big 5 Sporting Goods: 4780 Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach; 5247 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood.

–Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach: main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd.; Dean A. Eastman/Fairfield Club, 700 E. Del Amo Blvd.; Freeman E. Fairfield/Westside Center, 1835 W. Willard St.; John C. & Alice Wallace Boys/Girls Club, 1920 Lemon Ave. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday done Friday.

–First Bank: 6200 E. Pacific Coast Hwy. and 4040 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach; 5195 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood.

–Phil Trani’s Restaurant: 3490 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach.

–Boathouse connected the Bay Restaurant: 190 N. Marina Dr., Long Beach.

Thank you successful beforehand for helping kids and making a quality successful their lives during this vacation play and into adjacent year.

Information: Kari Cho, Boys & Girls Clubs selling director, 562-595-5945 oregon karic@bgclublb.org.

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