Burbank Soup

Gifts needed for teens at the Burbank Aid Center

Don’t forget the teens

Group says gifts for older children are lacking and they would like electronics, makeup or gift cards so no one is left out.
By Nalea J. Ko
Published: Last Updated Thursday, December 18, 2008 3:19 PM PST
BURBANK — Boxed potatoes, boxed stuffing and other holiday food supplies are overflowing at the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, but center officials say donations are sparse for a commonly ignored group in need.

“Every year, when people think, ‘Oh, yeah, we need to do something for the poor kids at Christmastime,’ you think of the little kids,” center Executive Director Barbara Howell said. “You don’t think of the kids 14 to 17. It’s always been a scramble to get gifts for teenagers.”

Workers at the Burbank Temporary Aid Center say holiday gifts for teens are always lacking. They are asking for gift cards, electronics, cosmetics or any gifts appropriate for a teenager.

Stocks of holiday presents are stored away for the financially disadvantaged in a facility aptly dubbed Santa’s Room. Registered clients like Burbank resident Vitalina Saenz apply for the Santa’s Room program by filling out holiday wish lists for their children. Workers and volunteers then search storage shelves to fill each guest’s request. Donations are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, Howell said. And often, wish lists for teens are not met.

As a mother of five, Saenz said it is better to ask for assistance than go without food.

“Everybody comes for the same thing,” Saenz said through a translator.

Saenz sat in the center’s lobby area last week, waiting for donations. She was not alone, as clients utilized the center’s various amenities: laundry room, food pantry and other facilities. To register for assistance at the center, clients must provide proof of residency in Burbank, identification for every family member and proof of income.

Although the shelves in the food pantry are currently stocked, officials say there are always clients in need of food supplies.

“A few months ago, our shelves were really empty,” Howell said, adding that the current abundance is what happens when they reach out to the Burbank community.

However, she later added: “I don’t want people to think that we have so much food that we don’t need it.”

About 30% of clients at the center are homeless, while the majority are low-income individuals in need of temporary assistance.

But with a surplus of grocery supplies, staff members are now asking for teen holiday gift donations.

“Everyone thinks about the young kids . . . . But we forget that some of the little kids have older brothers and sisters. And we can’t leave them out,” Howell said.

To make a donation, call (818) 848-2822 or visit 1304 W. Burbank Blvd.

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