All too often, many students don’t have the school supplies — pens, paper, notebooks and more — that they need to succeed in school. With inflation rising, we anticipate that the 2023-2024 school year will continue to be challenging for families already living paycheck to paycheck, leaving little left for items like essential school supplies. NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 are helping move communities forward and Supporting Our Schools with a backpack and school supplies donation drive to benefit K-12 students in the Bay Area.
Supporting Our Schools is a nationwide school supply drive spearheaded by NBCUniversal Owned Stations. NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 are working with Family Giving Tree and Xfinity to help collect supplies and funds that will help students and teachers in need. This year, our goal is to ensure that 28,000 Bay Area students have what they need to start the school year.
14 Comcast Xfinity stores throughout the Bay Area will serve as backpack collection sites. See below for a list of participating stores.
HOW TO DONATE:
IN PERSON: Drop off your donation of a backpack or school supplies in person on Friday, July 28 at City Center Bishop Ranch, (6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd , San Ramon, CA 94583) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m featuring kids activities, performances and giveaways. Receive vouchers and discounts to some of your favorite City Center merchants with your donation of a backpack while supplies last.
IN PERSON: Drop off your donation of a backpack or school supplies in person on Friday, July 28 at Town and Country Village in Palo Alto (855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m and receive giveaways and discounts from Town & Country merchants with your donation of a backpack while supplies last.
Comcast Xfinity Stores: Visit a participating Comcast Xfinity store to pick up a backpack tag and then go shopping for a backpack and the listed supplies. Please attach the tag to the backpack and return it to a participating Comcast Xfinity store. List of participating Comcast Xfinity stores:
| Alameda | 31055 Courthouse Drive Union City CA 94587 |
| Alameda | 4104 Grafton Street Dublin CA 94568 |
| Alameda | 5688 Bay Street Emeryville CA 94608 |
| Contra Costa | 2001 Diamond Blvd, Suite 150 Concord CA 94520 |
| San Francisco | 260 Potrero Avenue San Francisco CA 94103 |
| San Francisco | 2186 Geary Blvd San Francisco CA 94115 |
| San Francisco | 3251 20th Ave, Suite 315 San Francisco CA 94132 |
| San Mateo | 35 W Hillsdale Blvd, Suite 50 San Mateo CA 94403 |
| San Mateo | 153 A Serramonte Center Daly City CA 94015 |
| Santa Clara | 1600 Saratoga Ave, Suite 32 San Jose CA 95129 |
| Santa Clara | 2825 El Camino Real, Suite 100 Palo Alto CA 94306 |
| Santa Clara | 1566 Monterey Rd, Suite 20 San Jose CA 95112 |
| Santa Clara | 1068 E. Brokaw Rd, Suite 50 San Jose CA 95131 |
| Santa Clara | 301 W. McKinley Ave, Suite 140 Sunnyvale CA 94086 |
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Whether education happens in the home or in a classroom, one thing is certain: if students don't have the supplies to do the work, it will be difficult for them to learn. For thousands of children from underserved families, school supplies are scarce necessities. You can make a difference for so many in need. Donate to provide backpacks and school supplies and make an impact in Bay Area kids' education today.
This year, approximately 200 qualifying schools throughout the Bay Area will receive backpacks through the program. For many of their students, these fully stocked backpacks will be the only resource available to start a new school year, possibly still distance-learning at home, with the tools and confidence they need to succeed.
In 2022, NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and Family Giving Tree collected more than 28,000 backpacks that were distributed to Bay Area schools for students eligible for the free school meal program.
We’ll be sharing stories through the end of July from the Bay Area and beyond to raise awareness about different ways to help students and teachers move forward and thrived in the classroom.
Backpack donations will be distributed to students eligible for the free meal program at Bay Area schools.
You can build a backpack online by visiting a Virtual Giving Tree here.
