Clayton Kershaw, his wife Ellen, and their three oldest children arrived at the Dream Center on Saturday morning to long lines of family and children awaiting an opportunity to receive a backpack filled with supplies at the ninth annual Back to School Bash.
“It’s incredible what the Dream Center does. Just what the Dream Center does for the city of L.A., it’s such a great partnership for us and the Dodgers to be able to have,” Kershaw said. “We’re just happy to be a small part of it.”
While Clayton and Ellen have long been on hand for the Back to School Bash, recent years have included participation by some of their children as well. Cali Ann and Charley stood at the front with their parents to bring smiles to kids’ faces with the backpacks.
“It doesn’t take being a professional baseball player or an adult to start giving back,” Ellen said. “Even at 5 years old, you give your time when you’re able to have opportunities like this to give out backpacks. Seeing the kids’ faces light up when they receive a brand new backpack filled with supplies is unmatched. It’s so cool.
“And teaching our kids, look, we’re going to wake up early on Saturday and give back to this community because it’s a really important thing for us to do.”
Justin Turner and Kourtney Turner, who also work closely with the Dream Center through their Justin Turner Foundation, attended as they have in years past.
A signature event for Kershaw’s Challenge, a total of 3,500 backpacks were distributed to local children at no cost. The day included carnival festivities, a petting zoo, hygiene kits provided by Baby2Baby, and health services.
Dream Center appreciative of Kershaw’s Challenge
The Dream Center plays an integral role in providing for underserved communities in Los Angeles, and getting an opportunity to partner with Kershaw’s Challenge further helps them deliver on their goals.
“The Dream Center is 28 years of existence, and we just believe in being consistent in a community and meeting needs,” executive of leadership and development Stella Reed told DodgerBlue.com
“We have Pair of Thieves giving out socks, Skechers donated 2,500 of the backpacks, and then we have UCLA helping us out with nursing needs and different things, and we also have Baby2Baby giving out hygiene kits, and we’ve got an entire carnival ready for the kids.
“We just really want the kids to feel confident and ready to start school. It’s been a really rough couple years for many families and people in this community right here in Los Angeles. This event is to lift spirits, get them excited, encouraged and not just feel ready, but feel like they have supplies to start school so they have a successful year.”
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