Michelle Obama Makes Surprise Visit to School in Skid Row

Former first lady Michelle Obama is on a national book tour, but that didn’t stop her from visiting children at a school on Skid Row.

“Everybody here is special,” she told the kids. “That’s why I’m here, I wanted to see some special kids.”

Para los Niños, located at the heart of Skid Row, provides educational and family support services to some of the residents with most needs in the city.

“So often the kids we serve, people forget them and think there’s no future there or a limited one,” said Drew Furedi, president of the school.

Obama was on a mission not to sell her books, but to encourage young people to read them.

She gifted and read books to the children who sat in a color-filled room, surrounded by building blocks, crayons and drawings on the walls.

Angela Capone, vice president of Para los Niños said the former first lady’s message is just what the children need.

“It is the heart and soul of what our children need,” she said. “They need to know that they are important.”

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