The Karsh Center was proud to host its fourth annual back-to-school event on August 2nd, 2024. At this year’s event, Ready for Kindergarten!, we welcomed 109 children who will be starting pre-K or kindergarten in the fall and their families, all of whom are graduates of our Family Support Program, which provides diapers and childcare supplies for families with young children.

The morning was full of fun activities for families to do together, including arts and crafts stations, healthy snacks, face painting, a photo booth, a drum circle hosted by Wahlbangers Drum Circle Organization, and a reading corner with free books provided by The Book Foundation, Los Angeles Public Library Foundation, and L.A. Care Community Resource Center in Metro Los Angeles! 

Parents visited our resource fair, where 10 organizations with family-focused programs provided information about available resources, from affordable childcare to financial planning. Thank you to City National Bank, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center, JVS SoCal, KHEIR Clinic, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, L.A. Care Community Resource Center in Metro Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Public Library, Pathways LA, and QueensCare for joining us in supporting our community! The highlight for many children was receiving their first backpack, along with school supplies and other goodies. 

Ready for Kindergarten! is designed to not only provide backpacks for children going to school, but also to get them and their families excited about the school year ahead. Children shared that they were looking forward to “reading and math” and “learning many new things and meeting new people!”

Thank you to all our donors and volunteers who made this amazing event possible!