Dear Editor:PTA HELPS needs help. HELPS (Health Education Local Pantry Services) is a food pantry. It serves the families of children who attend school in the Downey Unified School District. It helps Downey residents who are elderly, disables and those who are having a tough time making ends meet, especially now, when the economy is bad and unemployment high. The program is a unit of the Downey Council PTA and is operated by mothers, grandmothers and men who are members of the PTA. HELPS depends on donations from the community and is in need of canned food, rice, beans, cereal and toiletries. Monetary donations are gratefully accepted as well. HELPS is located at Apollo Park, 7830 Quill Dr., Suite S. Please call HELPS at (562) 881-9833, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., to find out how you can help. -- DeAnne Kiralla, Board member, HELPS

Dear Editor: I have completed a food drive as a service project for my Girl Scouts Troop #275 and I wish to thank my neighbors in the Orange Estates area for contributing food for the PTA HELPS room. One-hundred-and eleven families generously donated some 726 items to help needy families in Downey. Among the items that were donated were: 285 cans of vegetables, 170 cans of soup, 71 cans of fruit, 63 cans of fish, 29 cans of pasta, 23 cans of meat, 17 boxes of desserts, 12 boxes of cereal, 10 boxes of grains, and other assorted items. I am very proud of my neighbors and I want to express to them how much I and the families who will benefit from their generosity thank them for being so generous. I also want to thank my family who supported me on this project and my troop leader Mrs. Linda Haverman who encouraged me to complete the project. I have learned a lot of things doing this project, mainly that there are so many good people and that they always come up to the plate when their assistance is requested. For that I give them a huge thanks. -- Mariah Montero, Downey

********** Published: August 5, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 16