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Kern County Community Steps Up for School Supply Drive
The months of July and August regularly mark that it’s Backto-School time with exciting local campaigns dedicated to raising funds and collecting school supplies to ensure that kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County have all the necessary tools to start school ready to learn.
In a heartwarming display of community spirit, many local organizations rallied to support the Boys & Girls Club by conducting school supply drives, collecting funds, assisting with shopping sprees, providing various services or helping with our supply distribution. In fact, this year’s campaigns saw record participation from the community with over a dozen organizations collecting donations and/or supplies and the same number helping with distribution or other services. These organizations joined forces to make a big impact for underserved students in our community. Overall, tens of thousands of dollars were raised in either funds or supplies by these organizations and supporters and delivered to children who need them most.
In July, the Isaias Ruiz Agency/State Farm Insurance partnered with two local retailers—Five Below and Burlington to conduct pop-up Quotes for Good “crowdfunding” events which provided a backpack for every insurance quote collected. Shoppers could also contribute supplies as well during those events. Isaias and his team have conducted these events for several years and are always a great partner to the Club with our Back-to-School efforts. In addition, several other firms held supply and fund drives within their companies, collecting from employees, clients, and customers. The efforts by these community leaders— California Resources Corporation, Li & Liao Optometry, Kern Energy, Kiwanis Club of Westchester, Universal Healthcare, High Desert Distributing, Southern California Gas Company, Frito Lay, Pepsi Co, Bakersfield East Rotary,
Christian Men’s Fellowship, Adventist Health Physicians Network, and Dollar Tree drove the success of the Back to School Campaign.
In addition to the fundraising and supply drives, other firms helped with getting the kids ready for school in other ways. In early August, the Kohl’s Department Store on Rosedale Highway opened its doors early for an exclusive Back to School shopping spree. This is an annual event where students are paired with members from the Bakersfield North Rotary Club who help them shop so they can return to school in style. The Kohl’s store on Gosford also held two shopping sprees sponsored by the Active 20-30 Club of Bakersfield and the Kohl’s Care program. And then to add a little coifing to the mix, Curbside Cuts and Shaving provided free haircuts for the kids at the Club’s Armstrong Youth Center on Niles Street.
Finally, on August 9, volunteers from Kern Energy, SoCalGas, Li & Liao Optometry, East Rotary, Kiwanis, Target, and Isaias Ruiz Agency helped with the supply distribution.
Each student was given a backpack and was paired with a volunteer who escorted them through the BGCKC distribution center and helped them fill their backpacks. “We believe in giving back to our community, and there’s no better way to do that than by supporting education,” said Marivic Louey, Kern Energy Controller and Boys & Girls Club Board Member. “We were thrilled to see our employees rally behind this cause.” The distribution event was rounded out with refreshments from Raising Cane’s and Panda Express.
The Club was able to distribute school supplies to hundreds of students, preparing them for the school year. “This is a fantastic event! It allows us to provide our students with the
pick their new school supplies. necessities and to help them gain self-confidence for the first day of school. We couldn’t have done this without the generosity of these local organizations and supporters,” said BGCKC Back-to-School Supply Drive coordinator Natalie Martinez. “It’s more than just supplies; it’s about showing these students that their community believes in them.”
This annual event has once again proven that when businesses, organizations and community members come together to support kids and education, everyone benefits.
