Back-to-School Supply Drive a success!

This week, 60,000 educators returned to New York City schools to begin planning and preparing. On Monday, September 21st, children will return, in-person, to the classroom.

From building safety to mandatory testing, it’s a moment that raises many questions. But for almost half of all South Bronx children living in poverty, going back to school raises an even more fundamental problem: affording school supplies.

When kids have the right school supplies, they are more likely to stay in school. But every September, children from low-income families show up for their first day without the basics.

Backpacks. Notebooks. Pencils and pens. A calculator. When these supplies are out of reach for children going back to school, it creates a burden — on the child, as well as on the educator.

Not only will the child’s schoolwork and self-esteem suffer, but the teacher will feel the burden, too. More and more often, educators are struggling to provide supplies for the classroom out of their own pocket. They know that without the right supplies, children are simply not able to succeed at school.

We believe every child in our community has the right to a chance at success. And we believe no parent should have to choose between filling their child’s backpack, or their belly. That’s why we launched our Step Up Back-to-School Supply Drive. Over the past month and a half, we’ve worked to raise money to make sure kids in the South Bronx have the supplies they need.

And thanks to generous support from folks like you, the drive has been a great success! We’re thrilled to announce that we were able to distribute supplies to Bronx Early College Academy and to Part of the Solution!

With your help, we’ve been able to give kids in the South Bronx a helping hand. Thanks to you, a child starting school this month will have a notebook and a pen. Thanks to you, a child will have a backpack.

With the right tools to succeed, who knows how far those kids will go?