Support STEM Education for 1000 Bay Area Children

In the shadow of the successes in Silicon Valley, we see a different reality. One in three children lives below the poverty line in California, with over 258,000 residing in the Bay Area alone. Coupled with the recent layoffs and unemployment statistics, the loss of income takes a tremendous toll on families struggling to pay rent and buy groceries or gas.

Now more than ever, Family Giving Tree’s Back-to-School Drive provides a critical solution to students. Essential school supplies provide them with what they need to do homework and participate in class. It also provides confidence in knowing they have what they need to succeed.

“Kids continue to walk around school with pride, carrying their backpacks. The supplies inside were incredible. We at Weller are so thankful for your organization and all that you do to support the community.” -Principal, Joseph Weller Elementary.

Backpacks filled with essential school supplies do more than ease strained family budgets. They soothe anxieties and first-day jitters for so many children. An educator at a partner school shares the backpacks' reaction on an entire family.

"We had a lot of new students from out of the country and coming here with very little income or no income at all; you can see the relief in their faces when we tell them they don't have to worry about buying anything for them. They even yell out a 'Wow' when they see how pretty they are and that they have color choices." Dalia, Yerba Buena High School.

Thank you on behalf of the students and families because of your generosity!

Why backpacks? The average cost of all the essential school supplies including the backpack is $122.

With the increasing pressure inflation has on everyone’s budget, the effects of current events are felt first and hardest by those families we serve in the Bay Area. We know that 2022 will be ever-challenging as families work to meet financial obligations. This cost of living will leave many children feeling unprepared as they walk into school without the essential school supplies.

Your past generosity has helped uplift these young members of our community and shift their mindset to one of possibility. This year our goal is to provide 26,000 Bay Area students with supply-filled backpacks and help them see their potential. You are a crucial partner in Family Giving Tree’s work. Thank you.

It’s a new year and we are firmly in the second half of the school year with students looking forward to spring and summer break. However, for many, the second half of the school year means something else: not being able to participate in a class or finish school work. 

The desire to learn may be infinite but school supplies aren’t. When they run out, students are back at square one and unable to keep up with their classmates. To address this, Family Giving Tree is working with our school partners to create School Success Kits (SSK) to replenish the essential supplies needed for learning. 

With your support, we hope to serve 4,000 students with School Success Kits to equip them for learning during the second half of this school year.

School is underway and thanks to our combined efforts, Family Giving Tree distributed 25,306 supply-filled backpacks! Together we exceeded our goal yet again! For these past couple of years, the Drive has looked very different: fewer people helping in the warehouse at a single time, contactless drop-offs, and the majority of our donations happening via our Virtual Giving Tree. 

But our mission remained the same, to equip young people with the tools they need to participate in school and do assignments and homework. Because of our efforts, 25,306 Bay Area students made a backpack comeback; starting the first day with the confidence to learn and grow. 

Thank you for your support and for investing in the future of our community’s children.