5K RUN TO HELP CLOTHE YOUTHS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

The sweat and exertion of hundreds of runners who will race through the wide, flat streets of the Valencia Industrial Center this weekend will raise money to buy school clothes for local needy kids.

The 7th annual Footsteps 5K Run/Walk will get under way at 8 a.m. Sunday from the starting line at Rye Canyon Road and Avenue Scott. Race-day registration is $18, which includes a souvenir T-shirt, or $12 for entry fees alone. Sign-ups and check-in will be held in the parking lot of HR Textron Inc.

Proceeds from the 3.1-mile race will benefit Operation School Bell, one of the charitable projects of the Assistance League of Santa Clarita. The group, whose members are 85 Santa Clarita Valley women, was formed in 1989 and received its charter in 1993, said Susan Armstrong, chairwoman of philanthropic projects for the Assistance League.

Organizers expect 300 to 500 runners to take part in Sunday's race. ``Right now, we have just 200 preregistered runners,'' said Assistance League member Mel Johnson. ``Usually, we get 100 runners who sign up on the day of the race.''

The event is open to athletes on foot, in wheelchairs and from all age groups. ``We have a division for age 12 and under, and we have a division for age 70-plus,'' Johnson said.

``In the past, it's been more of a family run. A lot of people bring their kids,'' she said. Among the runners will be 16 employees of Northridge Cadillac-Oldsmobile, who have entered as a corporate team.

Racers will follow a looping course along Rye Canyon Road, Avenue Crocker, Avenue Hall, Technology Drive and Avenue Stanford, Johnson said.

Operation School Bell serves children from low-income families who attend elementary schools in the Newhall and Castaic school districts. One school from the Sulphur Springs district also participates in the program, said Lori Wilson, an Assistance League member who oversees Operation School Bell.

``We helped to fit 400 to 450 kids in the valley this year,'' Wilson said.

``We give them a new pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, three pairs of underwear, a pair of sweat pants, a polo shirt, a hooded sweat shirt and a new backpack,'' Wilson added. The youngsters - selected for the donations based on recommendations from their teachers and school principals - also receive a toiletries kit, she said.

The Assistance League obtains the clothing and personal items at wholesale prices and from manufacturer or merchant donations, Wilson said. ``We spend about $16,000 a year on Operation School Bell,'' she said.

Other charitable projects of the Assistance League include Kids on the Block, a series of puppet shows whose themes touch on children's issues like learning disabilities and parents who divorce, Wilson said.

An additional activity of the Santa Clarita Valley chapter is Teddy Bear Patrol, which supplies hundreds of stuffed animals each year to area California Highway Patrol, Fire Department and Sheriff's Department stations. Paramedics, officers and deputies use the toys to comfort kids involved in traumatic incidents like an injury, crime or accident, Wilson said.

``It gives them something soft to hold on to,'' Wilson said.

At other times during the year, the Assistance League puts on a St. Patrick's Day dance for the Los Angeles Retarded Citizens Ranch, and a birthday party for residents of Santa Clarita Convalescent Hospital, Wilson said.

Besides the annual Footsteps 5K, the Assistance League raises money through a women's fashion show every spring.

The Santa Clarita chapter is a branch of the National Assistance League, a nonprofit organization founded 62 years ago and headquartered in Los Angeles. Its membership ranks include Santa Clarita Valley career women and stay-at-home moms alike. ``We have members with little kids, we have people who work full time, we have retirees, we have the whole spectrum,'' Wilson said.