“I think all of us can remember the first day of school, being a little anxious, but also ready and excited, and seeing your friends,” recalled Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS) Exec. Dir. Marie Bernard. “You want to show off that you’re ready and really very happy to be part of the new school year. This is part of that joy and happiness.”
Bernard and the team at SCS tried to recreate that feeling at the agency’s annual Ready to Learn Backpack Distribution event. On Aug. 7, more than 2,000 local students shopped at the warehouse on Kern Avenue, picking up more than $175 in school supplies to help them get ready for the big day.
It wasn’t your average pick-up. Right after Wednesday evening’s food distribution, SCS’s volunteers and employees transformed the warehouse into a back-to-school store.
“We want them to enjoy and have that pride when they walk in and make sure that they feel like they’ve got something that they picked or their families picked for them,” said Bernard.
The Applied Materials Foundation played a big role in making the event happen. The foundation not only donated money to buy supplies, but also provided the manpower to help families “shop.”
“We have a lot of employees that care a lot about the community, but being able to find a great opportunity for them to volunteer together with the community is super. It’s really the best,” said Katie Ferrick, the exec. dir. of the Applied Materials Foundation.
Among those shoppers was seven-year-old Zakai. He was “nervous” when he walked in, but the snacks put him at ease. Then he found the perfect Super Mario backpack.
Mom, Joban, who also has a 12-year-old and another child who isn’t in school yet, said the event is a huge relief for her family.
“Right now, having food security is a really big thing for a lot of families, especially because a lot of kids are at home. A lot of kids are in households where their families just lost their jobs and everything,” said Joban. “Luckily enough, my husband, he just got employment again, but we were struggling for a while to maintain and to stay above water. We’re kind of getting up over there, but yeah, it’s really incredible to be able to not worry about the financial; everything that goes into school shopping. We’re really grateful.”
The snacks were a big deal for Jessica’s kids, too. She says it “set the mood” for her ten- and seven-year-old and made them feel “special.” For her, this event means money allotted for school supplies can go somewhere else.
“It means that we can use the money that we would have used for school for groceries at this point to me because groceries are so expensive,” said Jessica. “It’s a great opportunity. I’m very thankful for it. I mean, we’re all in the area where we’re trying to get the most out of our money.”
Elementary school student Dianma grabbed K-Pop Demon Hunters backpack and a lunchbox. For mom, Anahica, this event is a huge relief.
“I’m a single mom. It’s a way that I know, I see that she has what she needs for school and that I know I can count on the community for her stuff and things like that and that takes something out of a lot of things I have going on,” said Anahica.
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