Nonprofit aims to fill backpacks for Sacramento students in need as school year approaches

It might seem strange to think about the next school year in the middle of California’s summer heatwaves, but Stanford Sierra Youth & Families is doing just that. It will soon distribute backpacks for kids in need with a drive-through format.

Stanford Sierra Youth & Families helps 4,500 area youth and families annually with a variety of services from juvenile justice intervention services to foster care and adoption services. For the past few years, they have also helped the students they serve prepare for the school year with a new backpack full of school supplies. It started as a large-scale drive with Volunteers of America. This year, SSYAF will be able to deliver the backpacks thanks in part to a grant from Sutter Health.

Staff at SSYAF work with the clients they serve to assess their school supply needs for next year.

“We put the supply needs into a master spreadsheet,” says Melissa Kelley, the group’s recently departed director of community engagement.

The group looks at the grades clients and their siblings will be going into, and checks area school supply lists for those grades. Once the spreadsheet is complete, SSYAF is able to bulk order supplies.

In July, volunteers sort out supplies and pack each backpack with the specific student in mind.

Kelley said, “If it’s a backpack for a preschooler, we want it to have things like safety scissors and crayons. We look at the grade level to meet the needs.”

Older kids will need more things like three-ring binders and protractors.

SSYAF is only 2 years old this July, but the groups that merged to form it have more than a combined 150 years of service to the community. Stanford Youth Solutions was formed in 1900, and Sierra Forever Families began in 1983. The groups joined together to better serve the needs of youth throughout Northern California.

SSYAF focuses on working with the entire family to equip and empower them for each kid’s success. The group does this through family advocacy and support, behavioral and mental health services, juvenile justice intervention, mentoring, foster care, adoption services, and pre- and post-adoption support. Youth and their families are referred to the agency through a variety of channels. With the number of families SSYAF serves and the breadth of services, Sutter Health’s help with backpacks and supplies in their grant is a welcome reprieve.

Keri Thomas, vice president of external affairs for the Sutter Health Valley Area, said, “Education is a critical tool for empowering students’ success and inspiring their future. Having adequate school supplies goes a long way in helping students feel prepared. Sutter Health is proud to support students in their journey.”

Want to help?

If you are interested in volunteering for sorting, filling, or distributing backpacks, SSYAF would love the help. Backpacks will be filled July 22, and distributed July 28-30. If you are able to help, contact Karla Zaragoza at kazaragoza@ssyaf.org.

This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 7:26 AM.