Back-to-School Backpack Drive (Bay Area)

No child should start the school year empty-handed.

In one of America's wealthiest regions, the need hides in plain sight. Across San Jose and the Bay Area, thousands of families must choose between rent, groceries, and school supplies. Many children in East Side San Jose districts arrive on day one with nothing — no backpack, no binder, no pencils — while classmates unpack new gear. Teachers spend hundreds from their own pockets to fill the gap, but they can't do it alone.

What Your $35 Provides

Every $35 fills one backpack with a full year of essentials: a durable new backpack, notebooks, binders, folders, pens, pencils, highlighters, and grade-appropriate extras like crayons or a calculator. Backpacks will be distributed through schools and community centers in Santa Clara County before the first day of school — we are currently finalizing distribution partners so every backpack reaches a local child in need.

Your Gift Goes Further

• $35 — Fills one complete backpack for one student
• $70 — Equips two siblings so no one in the family goes without
• $175 — Outfits five students in a single classroom
• $350 — Sponsors ten students — an entire reading group walks in prepared
• $1,050 — Supplies a full classroom of thirty students

Students who start the year properly equipped attend more regularly and perform better. A backpack tells a child their education is worth investing in. School starts in weeks. Donate today and send a Bay Area child through the school doors ready to learn.

Tax-Deductible: Selectiva Charities, Inc. is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 84-3104779). Your donation is tax-deductible, and you'll receive a tax receipt by email right after donating. Many employers match gifts through Benevity,