LA Galaxy and Herbalife Team Up With A Place Called Home To Equip 1,000 Underserved Students and Families for the Upcoming School Year
LA Galaxy players Edwin Cerrillo, John McCarthy, Mauricio Cuevas, Tucker Lepley, Isaiah Parente and Jalen Neal helped distribute backpacks filled with essential school supplies
In South Central Los Angeles, 26.5% of the population lives below the poverty line—a figure that is more than double the national average of 12.5%. To help alleviate some of the economic hardship that the community is facing, AEG’s LA Galaxy, in partnership with Herbalife, hosted a back-to-school event and a community health and resource fair at A Place Called Home on August 2, 2024, for 1,000 underserved students as they prepare for the upcoming academic year.
Several LA Galaxy players including Edwin Cerrillo, John McCarthy, Mauricio Cuevas, Tucker Lepley, Isaiah Parente, and Jalen Neal, helped distribute backpacks filled with essential school supplies, including pencils, crayons, rulers, notebooks, calculators, and pens. Additionally, along with the players, Joe Tutino, sports broadcaster of the LA Galaxy, and LA Galaxy General Manager Will Kuntz were on hand to meet the families and play pep rally games.
The event also included a Community Health and Resource Fair that provided students and their families with vital services including on-site optometry screenings, vaccinations, and on-site daycare, as well as information about job opportunities, housing resources, city services, and school readiness programs.
“For many families, the financial burden of getting kids ready to go back to school purchasing school essentials can be overwhelming,” said Felicia Hano, Community Relations Coordinator at the LA Galaxy. “By providing these resources, the event not only eases that burden but also ensures that students are prepared and confident as they start the school year.”
A Place Called Home inspires, encourages, and supports the young people in South Los Angeles to achieve social, emotional, and economic success. Since its founding in 1993, A Place Called Home has directly served more than 20,000 youth members through its core school day, after-school and summer programming, and over 150,000 residents through family and supportive services including food, clothing, and holiday toy distributions, counseling, voter education, and community organizing. For more information, visit apch.org.
Herbalife is a premier health and wellness company and community that has been changing people’s lives with great nutrition products and a business opportunity for its independent distributors since 1980. The Company offers science-backed products to consumers in more than 90 markets through entrepreneurial distributors who provide one-on-one coaching and a supportive community that inspires customers to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle to live their best life. For more information, please visit Herbalife.com and follow on Instagram @HerbalifeUSA.
The LA Galaxy is Major League Soccer’s most successful club. Based in Carson, Calif. at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy have won the MLS Cup a record five times (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014), the MLS Supporters’ Shield four times (1998, 2002, 2010, 2011) and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup twice (2001, 2005), and one Concacaf Champions Cup (2000) since their inception in 1996. Under the direction of LA Galaxy President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer Tom Braun on the business operations side and LA Galaxy Head Coach and Sporting Director Greg Vanney on the soccer operations side, the Galaxy are the premier club in MLS, with stars like Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Riqui Puig, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Javier Hernandez and Cobi Jones representing LA over the team’s 27 years in MLS. For more information on the LA Galaxy, visit www.lagalaxy.com.