The Inland Chinese Association officially presented 4,000 pairs of new shoes for homeless and foster youth in the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD).
The donation marks the start of a valuable partnership between the association and SBCUSD that will make it possible for 10,000 students in San Bernardino and Highland to have new shoes, especially during the cold and wet winter months.
“This is not something to be taken lightly,” said SBCUSD Superintendent Dr. Dale Marsden during the official presentation at Arroyo Valley High School.
Marsden spoke of the huge advances SBCUSD students have made in the past few years, including the increase in the graduation rate to 95.2 percent. But he said that those gains don’t come easy to a community with as many challenges as San Bernardino.
“Our students need the services and support from so many people to make this happen,” Marsden added.
Inland Chinese Association President Marie Hung presented the shoes to the District on behalf of the Association and Ambassador Abraham Chu, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles.
“We are honored to be here today to share our loving care with the students from San Bernardino School District,” Hung said. SBCUSD, the ninth largest school district in California, has about 5,000 homeless students and another 1,000 who live in foster care.