Helping 22,000 Homeless Students in NYC Receive School Supplies

Since May, Sophia Hlavaty, a rising junior from Basking Ridge, has been working in collaboration with Volunteers of America’s Operation Backpack community engagement service to raise awareness for the dearth of quality school supplies for children living in homeless and domestic violence shelters. She has reached out to corporations such as Barnes & Noble and Chipotle to organize community events that encourage participants to empathize with the condition of homeless students.

The success of education lies in its ability to endow students with increased knowledge of the world that comes from access to diverse perspectives. It trains students to think critically and ask questions to conceive solutions to great problems. Ultimately, education teaches students how to become global citizens, global leaders.

Thus, it’s important for all kids to have access to great quality education. Yet it is a daily challenge for the 1.4 million homeless students living in the United States to gain that access. One of the devastating ramifications of homelessness is its impact on a child’s education. Unlike fellow classmates, these unfortunate students do not have a backpack and few, if any, school supplies. Since childhood is a formative period, once schools categorize these unprivileged students as “shelter kids,” those students’ education pathways become defined by that stigma.

That’s why Hlavaty chose to work with Operation Backpack, an organization that has relied 100% on support from the community for the last 15 years to distribute new backpacks filled with specific school supplies to the 22,000 homeless students throughout New York City. Hlavaty hopes that she can use this opportunity as a way to not only benefit less fortunate kids but also to advance the societal knowledge of the students in the district. Hlavaty believes that through this effort she can increase the empathy of our students in the community and empower them with an understanding that they too can make a difference in the life of a child that might not have the same access to resources.

After cold calling corporations and setting up meetings, Hlavaty organized events at Barnes & Noble and Chipotle. On Saturday, July 13th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Somerville Barnes & Noble join her and other volunteers at the Harry Potter themed Operation Backpack fundraising fair to transform a child’s life with the gift of learning. There will be special potions at the café, magical musical performances, and wizard games and prizes.

On Tuesday, July 16th the Chipotle at 25 Mountainview Boulevard is hosting a fundraising event for Operation Backpack from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. where customers can choose to eat for a change. When purchasing a dinner during that time slot, participants simply need to mention that they are doing it on behalf of Operation Backpack.

If you can’t attend either event, you can still make a difference! Please donate to the campaign by selecting the “Donate to a Team” button: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en...