Starting a new school year is an exciting time for kids, as they prepare to learn and reunite with friends. But not all families have the means to equip their children with school supplies, which can be expensive. To help prepare kids to succeed in the classroom, CCRC hosted a series of Back to School distribution events.
“It helps out the community – those who are underserved, the marginalized population – and brings the community together as a whole,” one father shared. “Especially for kids that don’t have the means – their education is important.”
The Back to School distribution events were held at our offices in Chatsworth, Palmdale, Victorville, and San Bernardino. Nearly 1,000 families received school supplies, including backpacks, age-appropriate books, sunscreen, socks and more. The backpacks contained pencil pouches with scissors, glue, pens, pencils, and erasers, and kids got to select notebooks, rulers, markers, crayons, rulers, colored pencils and a water bottle.
“It’s a big plus for me being a single parent of two younger school age kids,” a mother told us. “They can come get free supplies – bookbags, folders, papers and be ready for school. It saves me money, which is a great thing. I appreciate it.”
Another family who recently immigrated to the U.S. said the event supported them as they transition into their new lives in our community. “Today was an amazing event for families, it was support for families in need,” said the mother of three. “We got a lot of supplies for school. Thank you so much, backpacks for my kids are amazing.”
Here’s a look at the total number of items distributed at all four locations:
Backpacks with supplies: 1,433
Books: 1,674
Sunscreen: 235
Packs of socks: 585
Packs of wipes: 340
Diapers: 6,400
We had a number of community vendors on site at our back to school distribution events to offer families additional supports. At our Chatsworth location, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo greeted families and helped distribute backpacks. A representative for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath was also present to speak with families.
“For me, as a mom, I think it’s so important to have this event because I know how much it can add up to get backpacks and school supplies and clothes and everything they need for the school year,” said Schiavo. “This is a really important event for me to make sure we’re supporting kids and families and taking some stress of their plates as they try to figure out how to make ends meet. I know it brings them peace of mind knowing that they got what they need and didn’t have to stretch their wallets.”
