What is Leading Drive?

We have a visual guide that illustrates the Journey of a Backpack - this gives you a high-level view of how wishes are fulfilled from beginning to end.

 

To provide a brief summary of how we operate: we vet and approve Bay Area non-profit agencies and schools with a high number of students who qualify for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal program and sign them up to receive a designated number of backpacks. We print backpack tags with school supplies listed appropriate for grades K-1, 2-5, and 6-12, and distribute them to companies and groups, i(.e. Drive Leaders) so their members can purchase the backpacks and supplies and deliver the backpacks to us. We also enable online giving through our customizable Virtual Giving Tree donation pages to provide a completely contactless optionf or giving. These purchased and donated backpacks are then distributed to the agencies and schools, who then distribute them to the students who qualify to receive one.

The timeline for the 2026 Back-to-School Drive is as follows:

• April 8, Wednesday: Drive Leader Registration opens
  May 6, Wednesday: BTS VGTs Go Live
  May 13, Wednesday: Drive Leader Training Webinar (optional)
  June 1- 5, Monday-Friday: Drive Leader Packet & Box Pickups and Mailings
  June 17, Wednesday: Priority Volunteer Registration Opens (optional)
  June 22, Monday: Rolling Community Volunteer Registration Opens (optional)
  July 27-30, Monday - Thursday: Community Hub Drop-Off Days
  July 28, Tuesday: Remote Drive Leader Drop-Off (San Francisco)
  July 29, Wednesday: Remote Drive Leader Drop-Off (Castro Valley)
  July 30, Thursday: Remote Drive Leader Drop-Off (Palo Alto)
  September 10, Thursday: Back-to-School Virtual Giving Trees End

We will have donation drop-off options in the South Bay, our main Community Hub, North Bay, East Bay, and Peninsula.

When you register for a Drive, you will be able to specify how many backpack tags you would like to receive and make a request for marketing collateral such as posters to display (limited quantities will be available but we will have resources online for you as well).

 

If you have further questions or require more information check out the Back-to-School Drive Leader Hub resources - they are updated frequently in June and July. If you still need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We are more than happy to help support you throughout the Drive to ensure a positive experience.