Safe Children Coalition Collecting School Supplies for Foster Children

July 3, 2024 | Sarasota

For any family, back-to-school time can be stressful, especially when it comes time to purchase school supplies. According to a recent article in the Tallahassee Democrat, “It’s estimated parents will spend anywhere between $489 and $890 … to provide school supplies for their child this year.”

The situation is even more challenging for children who are either in foster care or involved with prevention/diversion programs, where financial challenges can mean students will  start off the year without the critical supplies needed for classroom success. To help give children a chance to succeed in school, Safe Children Coalition is holding its annual Back to School Drive, to fulfill school supply lists for more than 350 children in foster care or its prevention/diversion programs.

For many years, Safe Children Coalition (SCC) has invited the community to support youth in foster care and/or involved with its programs, with donations of school supplies gratefully accepted throughout the summer. So far this year, supplies to prepare 100 children for school have been donated but there are more than 250 whose school supply lists still need to be fulfilled.

Anyone interested in helping children in SCC’s programs is encouraged to visit the Back to School Drive page (sccfl.org/back-to-school-drive) and follow the link to the participation form. At this link, community members can see and download the supply lists for grades K-5 and 6-12, and then shop to fulfill the supply list (or lists) of their choosing. Once the shopping is done, they can revisit the form to schedule the drop-off of supplies, during the week of July 15-19, at SCC’s Northgate location (1500 Independence Blvd., Suite 210, Sarasota).

The deadline for drop-offs – to be ready in time for group backpack stuffing activities – is July 12 (although later donations will still be gratefully accepted). While gifts of supplies are preferred, monetary donations will also support the critical, life-saving programs and services for vulnerable children and at-risk families.

“Children in the care system already face so many challenges, from anxiety and instability to emotional and physical trauma,” said SCC President and CEO Brena Slater. “Being able to afford school supplies is just another obstacle in a long string of stressors for kids and their caretakers. Our Back to School Drive continues to be a community-wide effort to provide children with the tools they need to learn and grow; we hope people will step up to help  our community’s kids to be prepared with the supplies they need for the coming school year.”

For many years, SCC has been particularly grateful for the support of Suncoast Community Church, which holds its own donation drive to provide the backpacks used for this effort as well as organizes a large group of teens to stuff all the backpacks with the school supplies donated by the community.

For more about the Back to School Drive, visit sccfl.org/back-to-school-drive. For questions, contact LeAnn Aldridge by calling 941-504-7420 or emailing laldridge@sccfl.org.