San Francisco Workplace Of The Mayor London Breed Celebrates Success Of Annual Again-To-College Backpack Giveaway

August 13, 2021

Over 3,500 backpacks and 5,000 planners and activity books have been distributed to children and teenagers living in public and affordable accommodations across San Francisco

San Francisco, California – Today Mayor of London N. Breed celebrated the successful completion of the city’s annual school backpack competition. In the past two weeks, more than 3,500 backpacks of school supplies have been distributed to children and teenagers in the public and affordable neighborhoods of San Francisco to help them prepare for the 2021-2022 school year.

As part of the city’s efforts to ensure a safe return to face-to-face learning, the Department of Public Health (DPH) dispatched mobile vaccination teams to many of the giveaway events to provide COVID-19 vaccines to attendees 12 and older. The events also provided food, entertainment, and resources related to health, wellness, employment, family support, and other social services in the neighborhood.

“This year’s competition is particularly exciting as our students are returning to the classroom after a year of distance learning,” said Mayor Breed. “The pandemic has hit us all hard, but nobody has suffered more than our youth. These backpack business gifts provide our students with the materials they need for the new school year and are a way of relieving our families financially. ” I would like to thank all departments in the city and our community partners for their hard work to ensure that our students are well prepared for the coming school year. “

In addition, the Mayor’s Office has partnered with the Department of Children, Youth and their Families (DCYF) and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) to create more than 5,000 planners and activity books with enriching tools and activities for personal and educational development to create and distribute. Exercises and prompts.

“As the children, adolescents and young people of our city prepare to return to their classrooms and school communities, we can feel their joy in returning to school and being personal. The 2021-2022 academic calendar will be the third.” School year that is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, “said Maria Su, Executive Director, Department of Children, Youth and their Families.” It has been a long and challenging journey, but we are determined to take our students and families on to support her path in the coming year. We believe in her brilliance and resilience. San Francisco children, enlighten your light, we see you. “

“It was a great pleasure to be part of this distribution to celebrate the strength, resilience and potential of our young people. Many of the youth loved the tools to help them pursue their goals and document their creativity, ”said Sheryl Davis, executive director of the San Francisco Commission on Human Rights.

The Mayor’s Office, the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) and HOPE SF have teamed up with volunteers through the nonprofit TogetherSF to pack and distribute the backpacks and other educational materials to each location.

“TogetherSF is grateful to our volunteer community for always being committed to helping,” said Kanishka Cheng, Executive Director of TogetherSF. “They quickly covered the need to pack and distribute backpacks – and had a great time doing it! We are honored to be part of the Mayor’s Backpack competition and look forward to continuing to support our community partners. “

“The City and County of San Francisco Housing Authority is honored to have helped the City family organize, deliver, and distribute backpacks to our families. Receiving a new backpack and school supplies is an exciting part of preparing for the upcoming school year and years to come as our students successfully navigate each stage of their educational journey, “said Tonia Lediju, chief executive officer of the San Francisco Housing Authority.

Other departments in the city that provided resources at the backpack raffle events were the Mayor’s Office for Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (RPD), and the San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA).

San Francisco is home to thousands of high school students in need of financial assistance both in and out of the classroom. Providing over 3,500 backpacks of school supplies tailored to each student’s class meets these needs while connecting students and their families with resources that can help support academic success throughout the year.

Mayor Breed is committed to ensuring all students have access to quality education as San Francisco emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Breed worked closely with the city’s departments throughout the pandemic to provide personal support for distance learning and additional enrichment programs, prioritizing children and teens with the greatest need. Additionally, earlier this year, Mayor Breed signed the city’s budget for fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, which includes $ 15 million, to aid student learning loss and educational recreation for San Francisco’s children and youth fight.

This press release was produced by the San Francisco Office of the Mayor. The views expressed here are your own.