Coastside Community Backpack

Drive

Donate Volunteer

Now entering it’s 28th year, the Coastside Community School Backpack Drive continues to help Coastside children prepare for school every year. Last year this program helped 463 students with new high-quality backpacks and a large shopping tote for each child, filled with school supplies. This is truly a community effort, led by Holy Family Episcopal Church. Coastside Hope identifies the school children that need our help and provides key logistical support. Local groups involved include Abundant Grace Coastside Worker, the National Charity League Coastside Chapter, the Half Moon Bay Library, the Friends of the Library, Community Methodist Church, Coastside Lutheran Church, Coastside Jewish Community, the Coastside Women’s Club, the Coastside Families Club, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, Unitarian Universalist Coastside Community, the Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows and other community groups. These groups all contributed funds and people power to help in raising funds, purchasing school supplies and backpacks, helping fill totes with school supplies and helping distribute the backpacks and supplies. Each child receives a new quality backpack, a tote filled to the brim with school supplies and as many children’s books as they want, thanks to the Library, the Friends of the Library, Coastside Lutheran and the Coastside Mothers Club. In recent years it has cost us about $60 a child to do this, but we anticipate the costs may be higher this year due to tariffs and inflation. This means we need to raise over $30,000 each year. We buy in bulk, so we maximize what each child can receive. A parent trying to duplicate what we do would easily spend twice to three times that amount. If you know of children who could benefit from this program, have them contact Coastside Hope to sign up.

Donate

First and foremost we need funds to buy backpacks and supplies If you would like to donate money, please either click on the donate button to donate via Paypal Or send checks to: Holy Family Episcopal Church P.O. Box 215 Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-0215 650-726-0506 Please indicate “BACKPACKS” on the memo line. Holy Family manages the money for the school backpack drive, 100% of the funds donated goes directly to this program to buy backpacks and school supplies.

Volunteer

We always need help as we prepare each year. This ranges from taking inventory of supplies we have on hand, to shopping for school supplies and more. We will also need help with stuffing the backpacks and distributing them. If you are interested in volunteering please follow this link and fill out the form.