Back to School Backpacks for the Children at Broadview

Back to school? We can’t believe it either! Those three words mark the end of summer and the kickoff to a new season of learning (our favorite!). As we look forward to rounding out the year and starting 2022 with momentum, we continue our dedication to supporting important organizations in our community with ongoing support to Solid Ground’s Broadview Shelter & Transitional Housing.

As our team learns more about the needs of the children and families at Broadview, we always have our radar on for opportunities to help. Broadview does an amazing job of providing a safe haven to families, mostly mothers, and their children, with a secure home location in Seattle while they experience homelessness or domestic abuse. Broadview is a place to start over, but being there and away from home certainly comes with challenges, even with some of the basics for children that many of us take for granted, like school supplies.

To get the new school year off to a good start for the children at Broadview—many of whom haven’t been in person at school for a year and a half due to the pandemic—we were thrilled to partner again with Toys for Kids (TfK) to provide back-to-school backpacks for the Broadview students as part of TfK’s annual campaign.

We all remember the feeling of fresh crayons, a new set of folders, a binder of new, crisp writing paper, sharp pencils, and, of course...a backpack with style. That excitement is one that every student deserves, so we jumped at the opportunity to partner with TfK to provide 30 fully stocked bags, all ready to go for the new year ahead. Supplies help each student feel prepared and equal in their classroom and take some of the stress off of attending school during a tumultuous time at home.

This is the latest in a series of projects we’ve supported in 2021 - our Year of Broadview, as we like to call it. We started with a donation of new technology to support remote/pandemic learning (Microsoft tablets, Microsoft Office software, and mic headsets) - and we vowed to continue the support all year. In February, we attended a Broadview Lunch and Learn to hear all we could about the shelter and its residents. Throughout the second and third quarters, our recruiting team provided their time and dedication in addition to helpful resources in the form of a Career Day, with the offering to continue the support 1:1 as needed. In May, we surprised the residents with a special Mother’s Day delivery, and this past summer, we hosted a professional photoshoot for families at Broadview and local photographer Toni from Pinto Portrait.

But the year is not over yet, so we’re excited to continue the support as 2021 wraps up. We can’t wait to hear about what all of the Broadview kids are learning at school this year!