Earn Money For LA SCORES While Grocery Shopping

Do you shop at Ralph's? Do you already have a Rewards Card? If so, you can sign up online to have Ralph's donate a percentage of what you spend on groceries to LA SCORES. Here's how:

Step 1. Register your Ralph's card online. Click Here

OR

If you have already registered online, sign in


Step 2. Click on "My Account"

Step 3. Click on "Edit Community Contribution Program Information"

Step 4. Enter your Rewards Card number (if necessary)

Step 5. Search for LA Scores OR
enter our NPO number: 90692

Step 6. Select LA SCORES and save

Step 7. Use your rewards card next time you go grocery shopping and earn money for LA SCORES!

What Does Poverty Really Mean?

So if you're like me, you've heard people talk about poverty in a variety of different contexts and although you may have the general idea on how to use the word, you don't have a deep understanding of it's meaning. So what is poverty? Where did it come from and who does it affect?

What is poverty?

Absolute poverty is "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services" (United Nations, Copenhagen Declaration, 1995).
Relative poverty refers to deprivation that is relative to the standard of living enjoyed by other members of society. Even if basic needs are met, a segment of the population may still be considered "poor" if they possess fewer resources, opportunities or goods than other citizens

What is the history of the term?

1962: President Kennedy asks Council of Economic Advisors to gather statistics on poverty. Makes defining and measuring poverty a goal of his administration.
January 1963: Mollie Orshansky publishes paper that proposes method for determining the number of poor. Her method proposes poverty thresholds that are based on the most austere food plans set forth by the USDA.
January 1964: After President Johnson declares war on poverty, the Council of Economic Advisors cite Orshansky's paper in a report to the President.
August 1964: Congress creates the Office of Economic Opportunity
May 1965: The Office of Economic Opportunity uses Orshansky's poverty threshold for determining eligibility.
1969: After other federal agencies follow the OEO's lead in using Orshansky's method, the White House adopts it as the official poverty measure. It becomes known as the "poverty threshold."

Orshansky's Poverty Threshold

$3.60 x 3 x 365 = $3,942

$3.60 represents the cheapest USDA Food Plan per day for a family of 4, 3 comes from 1950's studies that showed families spent 1/3 of their income on food, 365 is for the days in a calendar year, and you are left with a poverty threshold: any family of 4 living on less than this amount was considered poor.

Poverty Threshold today

Who is Affected?

If you google poverty you will see images of developing countries and initiatives to reduce poverty internationally. But don't let that mislead you. According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children. Poverty is all around us. Besides a lack of financial resources, people in poverty have a lack of emotional and mental resources, leading them to engage in self-destructive behaviors and make poor decisions. They also lack social capital and role models that most people use as a knowledge base available for them to access in times of need. With information about poverty, it's assessment and it's impact, LA SCORES attempts to do our part in breaking the cycle of poverty and providing resources and opportunities to our student-athletes that can help them make a difference in their own life and in their community.