The event provided students and their families with resources they need for a successful start to the 2015-16 academic year: backpacks filled with spiral notebooks, pencils, crayons and other supplies, along with information ranging from parent-child groups to health and other social services. LeapFrog readers and tablets, generously donated by the Warriors Community Foundation, will support greater literacy and learning among the youngest public housing residents at Potrero.
For the Potrero public housing residents, whose average annual household income is $14,000, the gift of a new backpack and supplies makes a big impact. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American family will spend $630 on supplies, electronics, apparel and other school needs this year.
The backpack giveaway is a component of Rebuild Potrero (www.rebuildpotrero.com), nonprofit BRIDGE Housing’s comprehensive revitalization effort to rebuild 606 units of distressed public housing and create another 1,000 new homes with a range of affordability, community facilities, open space, and social networks and services to improve the lives of current and future generations. The event was sponsored by Rebuild Potrero, Healthy Generations Project, the Potrero Hill Family Support Center/Urban Services YMCA, the Economic Opportunity Council of San Francisco, Community Awareness Resource Entity (CARE) (resident-let nonprofit), Ending Poverty in Community (EPI.C) and the Warriors Community Foundation.
“We know that it is never enough to just provide housing,” said Cynthia A. Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE. “That’s why our community building activities–such as this backpack giveaway and, during the school year, a ‘walking school bus’ to get kids to class on time–are so critical. Ultimately, the goal is to pave the way for the effective delivery of services and provide the foundation for a healthy, sustainable and thriving neighborhood.”
For more information about Rebuild Potrero, visit www.rebuildpotrero.com.
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