Family Giving Tree is partnering with NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and NBC Sports Bay Area/California to highlight the learning disparity between students who start the school year without essential school supplies and their peers who have what they need to help them succeed.
This is the fifth consecutive year that the Milpitas-based nonprofit has teamed up with the media outlets for “Supporting Our Schools,” a national program to raise awareness and collect school supplies for students whose families can’t afford them.
Through Sept. 10, Family Giving Tree is accepting online donations to purchase backpacks for 26,000 area K-12 students. A supply-filled backpack costs $35 at vtree.fgt.org/NBCBayArea.
Donors can also drop off backpacks or school supplies in person on Friday, July 29, at Jamba, 1037 El Monte Ave. in in Mountain View, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and receive a free slice of pizza from Pizza My Heart and a free Jamba drink with their donation.
For their part, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 are this month covering education-related issues faced by low-income families and students in the Bay Area.
“Leveling the educational playing field for all students in the community is the initiative behind our back-to-school drive,” Family Giving Tree CEO Jennifer Cullenbine said in a statement. “Our partnership with NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 helps increase the visibility of the inequity in education and the vital need for community support.”
For more information on the backpack drive, visit familygivingtree.org.
Source: www.mercurynews.com