The "Get Real" group with Lynda Miller

Back to School with Support for the Kids

Every year thousands of children in the Ventura county area start school without the proper essentials for the classroom. Each September Support for the Kids holds its annual school supply drive for foster and underprivileged children.

During late summer early fall there are countless volunteers and businesses that come together to collect school supplies for the event. Ten of the local Starbucks stores put out baskets and signs for four weeks collecting backpacks and supplies from their customers. Numerous volunteers such as National Charity League stood in front of the Westlake Village Staples and solicited school supply donations for 6 days. The “Get Real” group (local real estate agents and loan consultants), GG girls (a group formed by girls 8-13 with their moms), Del Mano Hair Salon, First California Bank and Curves in Thousand Oaks also took up a collection from their clients. Neftin Mazda provided storage space and a work area for the volunteers to stuff the backpacks and prepare for handout day. Almost 400 people helped with this event in one way or another, a true community effort!

This year alone Support for the Kids has helped more than 1000 children with school supplies. On September 6th 230 backpacks were handed out in Fillmore. Hundreds more were supplied to foster/kinship and underprivileged children in Oxnard, Ventura, Simi Valley and Camarillo.



"GG girls" collecting school supplies in front of Staples. Left to right: Will Bernstein, Lauren Shemtov, Jenna Lorin, Michelle Brooks (Staples store Manager), Rachel Julius, Mara Lorin, Chloe Wigul and Samantha Bernstein



Donated backpacks ready to be stuffed



Ali Skewes-Cox painting faces at the Fillmore event. Photograph by Nancy Skewes-Cox