Backpacks Give Kids a Great Start in Kindergarten

Each June, the BMC provides backpacks for Family Connections students are "graduating" from preschool and will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. Family Connections is a tuition free parent participation preschool for low-income families in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. In their innovative program, parents participate in preschool classes with their children, age newborn to five years.

The backpacks are filled with school materials they will need as well as activity supplies that will help them continue to develop skills during the summer break. This project is funded by the contributions from BMC members who opted to make the $10 donation when they joined or renewed their club membership.

When we delivered the backpacks, the school's community liaison, Debbie Denton, gave us a tour of their new school site in East Palo Alto. The school is located on a large corner lot with a wonderful expansive fenced outdoor area for the children to enjoy. The site is leased from East Side Preparatory school, another innovative school making great strides to provide educational opportunities for adolescents in this underserved community. During the tour we were told that there are homes nearby that are known for drug dealing. It was a painful reminder that these children face such tremendous challenges all around them at such a tender age.

Debbie told us how proud the children are to don their new backpacks which they receive at a preschool graduation ceremony in June. They have seen the students before them receive the backpacks in prior years so they really look forward to receiving their own when the time comes. Much like receiving a diploma, it is a tangible reminder of what they have accomplished and what they have to look forward to as they enter elementary school.

We want to thank each and every member who contributed financially to this important project. We received a beautiful hand made card from the parents at the school with many individual heartfelt notes of gratitude for our donation:

"Thank you for all that you have donated to us and for the smiles it brings to our children's faces." For more information, please visit: www.familyconnections.org