6,000 HOMELESS LOS ANGELES STUDENTS TO GET BACKPACKS FILLED WITH SCHOOL & HYGIENE SUPPLIES

The staggering knowledge that nearly 20,000 students served by the Los Angeles Unified School District are homeless catapulted The Giving Spirit into action with the LAUSD Homeless Education Program to provide 6,000 backpacks to the most vulnerable among us – our children. This inaugural initiative entitled Backpacks 4 LAUSD Kids, launches today, announced The Giving Spirit founder, Chairman and CEO, Tom Bagamane.

 Each backpack will be filled with school supplies, hygiene products and critical items of daily living for the entire family. Los Angeles Unified will mobilize delivery to students who have the greatest need. 

Backpacks 4 LAUSD Kids is the brainchild of Bagamane and Tammy Wood, Senior Parent Community Facilitator, Los Angeles Unified Homeless Education Program, and is part of a larger body of outreach, now known as The Bravelings Project, that will serve the growing body of students who self-identify as homeless, namely, in shelters, motels, abandoned buildings, vehicles, doubled up with other families, or unsheltered.

 “The stark reality is that we’re serving nearly 20,000 unsheltered students. We welcome the opportunity to use our resources, newly learned experience and capacity for hard work to brighten these young lives during the holiday season by letting them know they are cared for and not forgotten. The kits will also unburden parents taxed with the obligation of providing school supplies and other living essentials to their children – sparing their sparce resources,” said Bagamane.

“Between early December and mid-January 2021, we will take on the challenge to show 6,000 homeless students that we care about them and their families. These homeless students will receive a backpack to affirm that we are vested in their future and want to them to stay in school, graduate and thrive,” said Wood.

Observing strict social distancing protocols, the leadership teams of The Giving Spirit, joined by a handful of volunteers will assemble the backpacks at the Westchester Community Center in space provided by 11th District Councilman Mike Bonin. Backpacks will be delivered to the Los Angeles Unified team for distribution to elementary students prior to the start of winter holidays and to 6th through 12th grade students upon recommencement of classes in 2021.

 Jointly, The Giving Spirit and Los Angeles Unified will collaborate to raise awareness of the challenges these children face to show up every day and compete with their sheltered peers – pre-COVID-19, a majority never missed a day of class – and to recognize the courage and perseverance of Los Angeles’ youngest unsheltered citizens.

 The initiative anticipates individuals, houses of worship, businesses and corporations to give generously during this most critical Giving Season in the history of California. In lieu of volunteering, Bagamane and Wood ask that those interested in supporting the initiative contribute to its fundraising efforts.

About The Giving Spirit

Tom Bagamane founded The Giving Spirit in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on two fundamental principles. First, to provide survival assistance to the Los Angeles homeless community in the form of robust survival kits while personally serving homeless lives wherever they reside while engaging the homeless by actively listening and learning about their specific stories and challenges facing them, thus humanizing their plight.  Secondly, and just as important, The Giving Spirit educates individuals and communities about the human face of homelessness. Through professionally curated content and moderated dialogue, The Giving Spirit uses fact-based learning to overcome stereotypes and objectification as barriers to long-term solutions.  Since its inception, The Giving Spirit has served over 66,000 homeless lives with the help of over 20,000 volunteers.

About the Los Angeles Unified School District Homeless Education Office

 The Homeless Education Office (HEO) was designed to aid homeless students and families in compliance with the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act, an integral part of the No Child Left Behind Act. The HEO personnel work in collaboration with school personnel and community service agencies in an effort to maximize access to various educational, social and enrichment programs that promote academic success and student achievement. 

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