Fall Donation Drive to Support Local Teachers and Students

The Center for Spiritual Living San Jose is launching its annual Fall Donation Drive to RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching), inviting the community to come together in support of local educators, parents, and students. Donations will be collected on four Sundays—August 23, August 30, September 6, and September 13—before and after service at 1195 Clark Street, San Jose, inside Fellowship Hall.

RAFT, a long‑standing educational nonprofit in San Jose, provides hands-on learning materials, STEM project kits, and essential classroom supplies to help bridge the education gap for students and communities. Their mission is to empower educators and parents with tools that make learning creative, accessible, and engaging.

This year’s donation drive focuses on gathering new or gently used office and art supplies, including:

• Office Supplies: 1” binders, spiral and composition notebooks, college‑ruled paper, pens, #2 pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pencil pouches, pocket folders, scissors, dice (D20 and all sizes), paper clips, sticky notes, highlighters, staplers, staples, staple removers, binder clips, dry‑erase markers, erasers, and cleaner.
• Art Supplies: crayons, construction paper, glue sticks, glitter glue, stickers, sidewalk chalk, and more.

The Center’s Outreach Team—led by Gretchen Vogel and Deborah Borlase—is coordinating the effort, emphasizing that community participation directly supports teachers who often purchase supplies out of their own pockets.

“This is CSL’s annual Fall Donation Drive, and it’s one of the ways we live our commitment to service,” the team shared in their event submission. “It’s an opportunity to be part of a global effort in love and compassion while supporting our education communities—home teaching, private schools, and public schools alike.”

Community members, corporate partners, and local businesses are encouraged to participate by collecting supplies and dropping them off during the scheduled dates. All donations will be sorted and delivered to RAFT to support classrooms throughout the region.

For questions or additional information, contact the CSLSJ Outreach Team at outreach@cslsj.org or 408‑294‑1828.