Watts Kids Wide-Eyed at Gift of 700 Toys
The sun was beating down on the students sitting on the hot pavement of the 112th Street Elementary School playground in Watts, but for most of them, the view was just fine.
Their wide eyes were fixed on the bags of new toys piled at the edge of the asphalt, waiting to be distributed.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. May 10, 1997 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday May 10, 1997 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Metro Desk 1 inches; 27 words Type of Material: Correction
Toy donation--A story in Friday’s Times incorrectly identified the foundation that donated toys to children at 112th Street Elementary School in Watts. The correct name is Bandai Foundation.
More than 700 toys were donated to the school by the Bonsai Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by the makers of the Might Morphin Power Rangers. Thursday’s toy giveaway commemorated Bonsai’s commitment to a mobile medical program that serves 112th Street students and other children in South-Central Los Angeles.
Bonsai pledged $500,000 to the Children’s Health Fund, which offers mobile pediatric health services to medically underserved communities. Half of the donation will pay for the services of doctors and nurses who visit 112th Street School in the mobile clinic every Wednesday, and the rest will go to programs nationwide.
In addition, the company donated $2 million worth of toys to the children who use the pediatric program.
On Thursday, staff and students celebrated the pledge by unveiling a large hand-painted mural thanking Bonsai.
Then, with giant leaps, two Power Rangers burst out of the mobile van to distribute toys. The children gasped in awe.
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