A Back-to-School Miracle

School supplies are a basic need for any child going back to school. Yet, for many thousands of Bay Area families struggling to make ends meet, school supplies are yet another necessity that must go unmet.

Thankfully, there are many regional and local organizations that step in year after year to bridge the gap. This year, we partnered with United Way Bay Area (UWBA) for their Back-to-School Drive that distributed more backpacks with school supplies than ever before—1,500! (Read the UWBA article here.)

CityServe of the Tri-Valley was one of the United Way partners that helped give away these much-needed supplies to local families. This year, a Valor Crossing resident coordinator had reached out to us requesting 54 backpacks for local veterans’ kids. We rallied a local family to raise additional funds and fill backpacks. But we were only able to secure 30 backpacks this way; we still needed 24 more.

Right then we received a message on Facebook from a family that had gathered backpacks for children in need—they wondered if we could use 24 backpacks! It’s amazing what happens when each person does their part to extend practical compassion to their neighbors.