Providing Back-to-School Basics | CarePortal
It’s back-to-school season! This time of year, school supplies are among the items most requested through CarePortal. And churches across the U.S. are coming through in a big way!
Many children connected to the child welfare system experience high levels of uncertainty and trauma that can hinder their educational journey. This summer, the CarePortal community is stepping up to provide kids across the country with backpacks, school uniforms, tennis shoes, notebooks, pencils, and other essentials to help them start the school year with confidence.
Thank you for choosing to love these kids and their families by meeting these simple, but significant needs. Here are just a handful of the requests you’ve responded to in the last month:
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Caseworker Request: “I have a single mother with 7 kids. I asked her if there was anything she was currently struggling with, and she told me school supplies for 2 of her kids. The first kiddo is 2 years old and could use a backpack and a new pair of tennis shoes, size 9.5. The second kiddo needs the following school supplies: composition notebooks, markers, mechanical pencils, red pens, notebook paper, dividers, sticky notes, highlighters, erasers, and glue sticks. I went online to Wal-Mart.com and estimated the following items, slightly rounding up and came up with a number of $75.00. Thank you all so much for your consideration in helping my family!”
Cameron County, Texas
Caseworker Request: “Family consists of 1 mother, 1 grandfather, and 3 children. Grandfather is retired and struggling to meet the needs of 3 children under 10 years old. Family is extremely humble and recently went as far as to sell the grandfather’s tools to buy breakfast. The mother has learning deficiencies but has managed to acquire a job in Nebraska but the income is still too limited. The family is requesting basic school supplies, such as pens, erasers, crayons, markers, journals, glue, scissors, folders, or backpacks. Any help is appreciated by the family.”
El Paso County, Colorado
Caseworker Request: “A single, devoted mother to her young three children is struggling with purchasing her oldest daughters back-to-school clothes. Helping with getting a backpack, shoes, socks, shirts and pants would help substantially.”
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
Caseworker Request: “Three children, residing in the home with their mother on a Trial Home Visit, are in need of backpacks with school supplies for the upcoming school year. These children are going into the 10th, 6th, and 3rd grade. This mother is participating in the Family Treatment Court program at this time.”
Want to get involved?
The requests are still coming! If your church is enrolled in CarePortal, reach out to your point person about open requests in your community. You may also learn more about enrolling your church or meet needs as an individual!
Donate to help U.S. kids
When you give to support CarePortal, you enable the community to provide life-changing assistance — whether that means helping a grandmother cross off that back-to-school list, making sure a single mother can get to work, or committing to become a foster family.
All kids matter.
When you provide a child with school supplies, you’re doing so much more than giving them a backpack or tennis shoes. You’re saying, “I believe in you!” to a child who might have faced more than you’ll be able to understand. You’re saying, “You matter,” to a family whose story is complicated and brought them to a point of crisis.
