Backpacks and School Supplies for Foster Youth  

Aviva Children’s Services works each year to fill backpacks with school supplies for foster youth in Southern Arizona.  These backpacks are given at the beginning of the school year and throughout the year.

 

Why backpacks and schools supplies? 

As many of you know, school supplies each year can range from $75 to $150 each year.  This is an added burden on kinship families, teens living independently, and foster families.  Our goal is to minimize this burden to ensure foster youth can focus on their learning and growth.  Their caretakers can focus on helping the kids feel safe and secure.  Aviva provides backpacks to foster youth all school year because children are placed in foster care year-round.  Our goal is to ensure that if a foster youth’s school supplies were left behind when they were removed from their home, that they can walk into school the next day with a full backpack ready to learn.
 

How can I help?

There are several ways you can help, individually or as a group.   Below there is a list of the school supplies that we fill each of the backpacks with.
  • Individually- donors can send or drop off supplies from the list below.
  • Business and Groups- can purchase and collect items and hold a Stuff the Backpack event during a lunch break or evening event. An Aviva representative can make an appearance to help, cheer on the group, and share the importance of why we do these events.  We would love to take a photo to share on our social media sites the wonderful work our volunteers do.
  • Families- Collecting and shopping for school supplies as a family is a great way to teach and model the benefits of giving back.  This gives your children the ability to pick out what they think other kids their age would like.

 

School Supplies Needed:
  • Dry erase markers – Broad and fine tip
  • Spiral notebooks- college and wide ruled
  • Filler paper – College and wide ruled
  • Binders – 1.5 inch to 2 inches
  • 2 Pocket folders -multiple colors
  • Crayons-24 pack
  • Markers – Broad and fine tip
  • Colored Pencils
  • Calculators
  • Scissors -safety and student
  • Rulers
  • No. 2 pencils 12 pack (Ticonderoga Preferred)
  • Glue Sticks
  • Large pink erasers
  • Highlighters
  • Index cards – 3×5 lined
  • Compositions books – college and wide ruled

Donations can be dropped off at Aviva Children’s Services located at 153 S Plumer Ave, or you can have them sent directly to our us by using the online registries below.

Online Registries:

Target-  Gift Giver Page (target.com)

Amazon- https://a.co/2lJqMB9

 

For more information, please contact Olivia Bruntmyer at 520-327-6779 Ext 7162 or email us at info@avivatucson.org.