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Parents help children select a free book Monday… (John Glidden — VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD)

All it took to enter the Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club gym Monday afternoon was a golden ticket.

Well, it wasn’t a ticket, just a golden piece of paper.

By 4:30 p.m. well over 100 Vallejo City Unified School District children had stopped by to pick up free school supplies during the “Helping Hands School Supply Outreach” hosted by the Vallejo Education Association.

“It’s great for the kids,” said A.J. Brock as he and his wife, Araceli, stopped by the event with their three children.

A.J. Brock said that he was impressed with the free book each child was able to pick out.

“The books will help kids learn about the fundamentals to reading,” he said.

The event, while helping with school supplies, also helped the family learn about the Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club, according to Araceli Brock.

“We came in the wrong way (into the building) and we had no idea about the club but it’s a good program,” she said, gesturing to a Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club packet held by her husband. “We were even given a tour.”

“It’s our way of giving back to the community,” said association president Sheila Gradwohl. “It shows that our teachers are part of the Vallejo community.”

Gradwohl said this was the sixth year the Vallejo Education Association had given away school supplies like paper, pencils, pens, highlighters and crayons.