Backpacks with a Purpose

OVERVIEW: As a mom, I know how important it is to me to make sure my kids have everything that they need (not want, NEED) and I can not imagine how hard it must be for single, homeless moms struggling to survive and provide for their kids. The families supported by Colette's Children's Home are real live people, struggling from abuse, economical crises etc. and they are trying to get their feet back on the ground. 

Orange County Community Report (2006) stated that Orange County had the second highest rate of homelessness per capita in the entire United States next to Detroit, MI. As Orange County begins to emerge from the lingering recession, the 2012 report still states that per capita income is down, cost of living is high, and over all business climate measures are weak.

Single mothers are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Many of these homeless single mothers lack the education and skills necessary to become self sufficient. The significance of this problem is that a continuous cycle of homelessness may continue through generations if it is not ended through education and skills to maintain self sufficiency in the community. Colette’s Children’s Home works with homeless women and children to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent housing. Kristi's Hope really like's that they also provide the life skills needed to secure gainful employment, healthy eating, parenting skills, relapse prevention and conflict resolution.

OBJECTIVE:  We designated a couple of weeks towards collecting as many back pack and school supply donations as possible with the goal of preparing the children living at this shelter to go back to school, ready to learn!


RESULT: We had several generous people drop off back packs and school supplies. We were also blessed with the support of Mama’s Place and Thirty One with Samira. Mama’s Place in Huntington Beach offered their store as a drop off location for donations and even offered the chance to win a gift certificate to the store for every donation that was dropped off! Congrats to the lucky winner!! Samira with Thirty One generously offered her commission to fill each insulated lunch box that was purchased/donated with school supplies.  

                           

On Thursday August 13^th, we delivered 40 backpacks filled with pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, paper, folders, erasers, calculators, rulers etc… and 15 lunch boxes to Colette’s Children’s Home.