Alice’s Kids, a charity that provides targeted financial assistance to children in need, has donated $2,880 to help 180 eighth graders at Paradise Intermediate School purchase yearbooks. The vast majority of the students lost not just their school but their homes last November the Camp Fire that engulfed Paradise, Calif.
“If there was ever a year in the lives of our students when they should have a yearbook, it is this year. It will give them a reminder of the field trips they went on, the friendships they made, and the teachers they bonded with. We thank Alice's Kids for helping us provide affordable yearbooks for our students,” said Larry Johnson, the principal of the school.
Alice’s Kids normally responds to requests from teachers and social workers who have identified a child with a specific need. Over eight years, they have paid for prom tickets, summer clothes, soccer cleats and other items that will enhance their self-esteem. In this case, however, Alice’s Kids approached the school to see if there was anything they could do for these children who suffered so much trauma.
“When they told us that most of the children could not afford the yearbooks, we thought it would be a worthy expenditure of funds that would make these kids feel a little bit better about themselves,” said Ron Fitsimmons, the executive director of Alice’s Kids.
On November 8, 2018, the students’ lives were changed forever when the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise. In December, the school was relocated to the Chico Mall for three weeks of online learning and then to the former Orchard Supply Hardware store.
Alice’s Kids is a 501c3 organization that served 894 children last year in 26 different states.