{"id":435809,"date":"2026-08-18T01:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/435809\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T01:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:48:19","slug":"ready-to-learn-backpack-distribution-at-sunnyvale-community-services-serves-more-than-2000-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/435809\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready to Learn Backpack Distribution at Sunnyvale Community Services Serves More Than 2,000 Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI think all of us can remember the first day of school, being a little anxious, but also ready and excited, and seeing your friends,\u201d recalled Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS) Exec. Dir. Marie Bernard. \u201cYou want to show off that you\u2019re ready and really very happy to be part of the new school year. This is part of that joy and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernard and the team at SCS tried to recreate that feeling at the agency\u2019s annual Ready to Learn Backpack Distribution event<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t your average pick-up. Right after Wednesday evening\u2019s food distribution, SCS\u2019s volunteers and employees transformed the warehouse into a back-to-school store.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want them to enjoy and have that pride when they walk in and make sure that they feel like they\u2019ve got something that they picked or their families picked for them,\u201d said Bernard.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"Devid<\/a><\/p>\n

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 \u201cshop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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\u2019s really the best,\u201d said Katie Ferrick, the exec. dir. of the Applied Materials Foundation.<\/p>\n

Among those shoppers was seven-year-old Zakai. He was \u201cnervous\u201d when he walked in, but the snacks put him at ease. Then he found the perfect Super Mario backpack.<\/p>\n

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Mom, Joban, who also has a 12-year-old and another child who isn\u2019t in school yet, said the event is a huge relief for her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight 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,\u201d said Joban. \u201cLuckily enough, my husband, he just got employment again, but we were struggling for a while to maintain and to stay above water. We\u2019re kind of getting up over there, but yeah, it\u2019s really incredible to be able to not worry about the financial; everything that goes into school shopping. We\u2019re really grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The snacks were a big deal for Jessica\u2019s kids, too. She says it \u201cset the mood\u201d for her ten- and seven-year-old and made them feel \u201cspecial.\u201d For her, this event means money allotted for school supplies can go somewhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity. I\u2019m very thankful for it. I mean, we\u2019re all in the area where we\u2019re trying to get the most out of our money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elementary school student Dianma grabbed K-Pop Demon Hunters backpack and a lunchbox. For mom, Anahica, this event is a huge relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a single mom. It\u2019s 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,\u201d said Anahica.<\/p>\n

Related Posts:
SCS One-Stop Shop for Community Services<\/a>
Special Delivery to Feed Silicon Valley\u2019s Hungry<\/a>
Rep. Ro Khanna Brings Federal Funding for Sunnyvale and Santa Clara<\/a>
Living on the Edge: Poverty Simulation Makes it Real<\/a><\/p>\n

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