Holiday shopping list brings needed gifts to LAUSD kids
Some kids this year are asking for video games and designer sneakers for Christmas. But some are wishing for simpler things like toothpaste, shampoo, and shoes without holes.
Good Samaritans are helping to make the holidays a little brighter for some struggling LAUSD kids, and you can help too.
Fifteen-year-old Mission High School student Ana Escobar has never had a Christmas tree or opened a gift on Christmas. Her dad works seven days a week as a mechanic, so she will spend the day with friends.
"I don't ask him for any gifts because I really don't like him spending money on me," said Ana.
Ana and her father send money back home to Honduras, where her mother and little sister still live. The pair came here a year ago in search of opportunity. They share a room in a two-bedroom house. Nine other people live there.
"Sometimes I have to shower with cold water, and my room, we don't have a heater so we sleep in the cold," said Ana.
Ana is a student at Mission High School in San Fernando. It's a continuation school. The majority of kids aren't here for behavioral problems.
"It could be that their living situation was difficult, they might have had to take care of siblings, or they're immigrants and when they come they're behind on credits," said Mission Continuation High School Principal Amy Trinidad.
Dulce Reyes missed a lot of school because she and her mother were homeless, living out of a car, an abandoned building, or if they were lucky, a motel.
"It wasn't the best life," said Dulce. "Sometimes we had to just not eat some days."
For the third year in a row, the education advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers has put together Amazon wish lists for Mission's students and their families.
"The tenacity of these kids, their determination to graduate in the face of situations that most of us couldn't even fathom," said co-founder Jenna Schwartz. "It's so inspiring to me."
The Mission H.S. Giving Room shows students' "wishes" aren't typical: They include things like clothing, blankets, toiletries, and diapers and wipes for younger siblings.
"To be honest, I don't really want anything," said Dulce. "All I want is just try to get something for my baby sister, that's all."
A subtle reminder from a girl who has been through so much, that the holidays should be about family -- and humility.
"Appreciating what you have, trying not to take anything for granted," said Dulce.
