Back to School: Help us help kids! 

Donate School Supplies and Make a Difference!

Help us ensure every child in our community starts the school year with the supplies they need to succeed. At the end of August, we will be hosting a Back to School Picnic where we will distribute filled and prepared backpacks to children from families struggling with low income or new to the United States. These families, often without access to credit, find it difficult to afford basic necessities, let alone school supplies.

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The Reality

For many parents, back-to-school expenses are a significant burden. A third of parents (33%) are relying entirely on credit cards to cover these costs, but families at the poverty line or below often don't have this option. As Heather Clawson, Ph.D., from Communities in Schools, points out, “When you’re talking about, even at a low end, $1,000 out of pocket, for really any family it’s quite an expense. For our families living at or below the poverty line, this is really significant. Many of these families are not single-child households. They have multiple children, so compound that cost by two, three, or four kids spanning across K through 12, and you’re talking about a couple of mortgage or rent payments potentially, and money that would otherwise pay for food or the electric bill.”