Seedlings

An Interview With One of Our Partners!

Meet Christina, one of our amazing partner teachers in San Jose who has been working with Family Giving Tree for 15 years!

 What do backpacks/School Success Kits mean for your students?

"The majority of our families are low-income. The parents say ‘Thank you. I wasn’t going to have enough money to cover rent. Funds are very limited.’ The backpacks get lined up in my classroom and the students get to “shop” and choose their own. They leave so excited and happy. It prepares them for the year and it gives confidence they need to be successful."

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Joshua Rhodes from Great.com interviews Family Giving Tree

Joshua Rhodes from Great.com interviewed Family Giving Tree as part of their 'Great.com Talks With...' podcast. This series is an antidote to negative news stories that aims to shed light on organizations and experts whose work is making a positive impact on the world.

 More than four hundred thousand underprivileged kids live in the Bay Area of California. Families from some of the region’s poorest neighborhoods find themselves isolated, disenfranchised and in a world far from the glitz and glamor California is known for. Jennifer Cullenbine discussed the importance of caring for these families.

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The Backpack Comeback is here! Join us for our 25th Annual Back-to-School Drive

A new school year is approaching. As students get ready to say goodbye to their classmates and hello to summer, our team at Family Giving Tree is gearing up for our 25th Annual Back-to-School Drive. We want to make this upcoming school year better than the last for students in our community. 

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Our Community Made This Happen During the Pandemic

Challenging. Chaotic. Heartbreaking. There are many words to describe the discomfort we experienced in 2020. It was a difficult year, especially for the families we serve here at Family Giving Tree. Despite the chaos, we accelerated through the hardships and the unknown to continue our mission of bringing hope and joy to those around us, and we couldn't have done it without the support of our community. The bond we have here in the Bay Area is unmatched. It is unique. It is strong. It is what carried us through to continue our mission.

In April of last year, we launched an Education Relief Fund (ERF) in response to the crisis of COVID-19. The Education Relief Fund supported students and teachers in our community. We provided over 3,900 School Supply Kits and raised over $40,000 through the Education Relief Fund. Each School Supply Kit included pens, pencils, a spiral notebook, an eraser, a glue stick, highlights, crayons, colored pencils, markers, construction paper, a rule, a two-pocket folder, and a pencil sharpener. With these supplies, students from low-income families around the Bay Area transitioned to distance learning smoothly.

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Journey to 2 Million

This holiday season, Family Giving Tree is on track to reach our 2 millionth recipient! To celebrate this milestone, we are sharing six stories from our past to help us remember our journey to 2 million, how far we've come, and the many helping hands that brought us here. 

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