Many Berkeley school youngsters received a free bag of school supplies at Berkeley’s San Pablo Park on Saturday, Sept. 9, during the 6th annual school supplies giveaway.
The giveaway – co-sponsored by the BUSD Office of Family Engagement & and Equity (OFEE) and SupplyBank.org (K to College) – was the centerpiece of an information mini-fair that included tables staffed by several other organizations, including the Berkeley Police Department, Berkeley Youth Alternatives, the Victim-Witness Assistance Program of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, Reading Partners and the Tobacco Prevention program from the City of Berkeley’s Public Health Department. A table of free children’s books was provided by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library, while another table of books and a table of clothing were provided by OFEE.
The items in the bags of school supplies varied by grade levels, with differing supplies in three categories: for K-1, 2-5 and 6-12. The 6-12 bag, for example, included notebooks, binders, pens, pencils, markers, staplers, rulers, pencil sharpeners, sketch pads and highlighters.
Invitations to the event were sent out to the District’s socio-economically disadvantaged students. The OFEE team warmly greeted families, while BUSD staff and community volunteers pitched in to make the event a success, with more than 1,000 bags of supplies handed out.