Drop-Off Information and Guidelines
If you are planning to drop off physical donations, please read the below for important information and guidelines for drop-offs this season, and note that you must sign up for an appointment and email
- Remember to bring a completed drop-off form with you when you drop off your donations.
- Navigate to your desired drop-off location below for information about specific requirements for that drop-off site and the signup link.
Please note: All drop-offs take place outdoors.
Choose Your Drop-Off Location
All drop-offs are outdoors. Select your location below for full instructions and to schedule your appointment:
- South Bay – Santa Clara
- Peninsula – Palo Alto
- East Bay – Castro Valley
- North Bay – San Francisco
- Quick Drop-Off Locations (Indoors, best for 10 or fewer donations)
Drop-Off Details by Location
South Bay Hub @ FGT Headquarters
We want to get you in and out as quickly as we can, so if you plan to drop off any physical donations, please read the information in the link below to plan for following these operational procedures.
Drop-offs will be by appointment only. If you cannot make it to any available appointments, please email
Drop-off days at our Community Hub are from Monday, July 27th - Thursday, July 30th. To sign up for an appointment slot, please follow this link and read all instructions before signing up for your appointment slot:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45A8AF2EABFEC07-64511441-2026
LOCATION: FGT Headquarters
280 Martin Avenue, Unit #6, Santa Clara CA 95050
BEFORE DROPPING OFF
Please count the total number of filled vs. empty backpacks and email the total to
DURING DROP-OFF
We will have 2 options for drop-off:
1. Contactless Self-Unloading
When you arrive, pull into the area marked for self-unloading and unload the donations into the Speedpaks (large wheeled cardboard boxes). If you have extra supplies that you are donating, please make sure that the bags or boxes of supplies are clearly labeled with your group name before placing them into the Speedpaks.
* Place any monetary donations into the marked bin. Be sure your organization’s name is on the outside of the envelopes before you drop them in the box.
- Place your completed drop-off form into the marked bin. This will help us confirm that you have dropped off.
2. Assisted/Full-Service Unloading
BEFORE YOU ARRIVE
- Be sure that all donations are loaded into the trunk or back of your vehicle and that there are no personal items in those areas.
- Place any leftover Drive materials (extra tags, etc.) in an envelope or bag.
- Do not place monetary donations in with the leftover Drive Materials. Please place them in a separate envelope or bag clearly marked with your organization’s name and place them in the back with your donations (ideally at the very front so that we may secure it right as we open your vehicle).
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
- Pull into the “drop-off” area listed on the map. You will find open doubled doors (by turning right after you pass by the main visitor entrance) for full-service/assisted unloading. Upon arriving, roll down your window.
- An FGT staff/volunteer member will approach to collect your drop-off form to confirm your organization's name and where your donations are in your vehicle. Once confirmed, FGT will proceed to unload your vehicle. Please feel free to get out and help our volunteers unload your vehicle so we can get you out of there faster!
- Once complete, FGT staff/volunteers will give you the signal that you are good to go and you may proceed to pull out of the drop-off lot.
Thank you for helping us maintain safe and efficient operations during drop-offs and thank you so much for joining us in supporting 35,000 students this Back-to-School season.
Together we can bring joy, grow hope, and create community!
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Drop-Off Information - Remote Locations
This year we have three remote drop-off locations. San Francisco and Castro Valley locations will be accepting donations from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Palo Alto will be accepting donations from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on the date specified only. Do not bring donations before or after these hours or any other day than the one noted.
Drop-offs will be by appointment only. Please sign up for an appointment window by clicking on your corresponding remote drop-off location.
If you are not able to commit to one of the available slots within the drop-off window, please email
East Bay – Castro Valley (One-day-only)
Drop-off day for the East Bay is Wednesday, July 29th.
East Bay (Castro Valley) Drop-Off Signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45A8AF2EABFEC07-64511582-2026
LOCATION: 3Crosses Church
20600 John Dr, Castro Valley, CA 94546
BEFORE DROP-OFF
Please count the total number of filled vs. empty backpacks and email the totals to
DURING DROP-OFF
We will have 2 options for drop-off:
1. Contactless Self-Unloading
When you arrive, pull into the area marked for self-unloading and unload the donations into the Speedpaks (large wheeled cardboard boxes). If you have extra supplies that you are donating, please make sure that the bags or boxes of supplies are clearly labeled with your group name before placing them into the Speedpaks.
* Place any monetary donations into the marked bin. Be sure your organization’s name is on the outside of the envelopes before you drop them in the box.
- Place your completed drop-off form into the marked bin. This will help us confirm that you have dropped off.
2. Assisted/Full-Service Unloading
BEFORE DROP-OFF
- Be sure that all donations are loaded into the trunk or back of your vehicle and that there are no personal items in those areas.
- Place any leftover Drive materials (extra tags, etc.) in an envelope or bag along with the donations.
- Do not place monetary donations in with the leftover Drive Materials. Please place them in a separate envelope or bag clearly marked with your organization’s name and place them in the back with your donations (ideally at the very front so that we may secure it right as we open your vehicle).
DURING DROP-OFF
* Pull into the area for assisted/full-service unloading and roll down your window.
- An FGT staff/volunteer member will approach to confirm your organization's name, appointment time, and where your donations are in your vehicle.
- Once confirmed, FGT will proceed to unload your vehicle.
- Once complete, FGT staff/volunteers will give you the signal that you are good to go and you may proceed to pull out of the drop-off lot.
Thank you for helping us maintain safe and efficient operations during drop-offs and thank you so much for joining us in supporting 30,000 students this Back-to-School season.
Together we can bring joy, grow hope, and create community!
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
North Bay – San Francisco (One-day-only)
Drop-off day for the North Bay/San Francisco is Tuesday, July 28th.
North Bay (San Francisco) Drop-Off Signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45A8AF2EABFEC07-64511577-2026
LOCATION: Arriba Juntos Parking Lot
1850 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
BEFORE DROP-OFF
Please count the total number of filled vs. empty backpacks and email the totals to
Before you arrive, be sure that all donations are loaded into the trunk or back of your vehicle and that there are no personal items in those areas.
Place any leftover Drive materials (extra tags, etc.) in an envelope or bag.
Do not place monetary donations in with the leftover Drive Materials. Please place them in a separate envelope or bag clearly marked with your organization’s name and place them in the back with your donations (ideally at the very front so that we may secure it right as we open your vehicle).
DURING DROP-OFF
Our staff will wheel Speedpaks (large cardboard boxes on wheels) out to your vehicle to load up donations.
Once complete, FGT staff will give you the signal that you are good to go and you may proceed to pull out of the loading zone.
Thank you for helping us maintain safe and efficient operations during drop-offs and thank you so much for joining us in supporting 35,000 students this Back-to-School season.
Together we can bring joy, grow hope, and create community!
At drop-off:
- Keep all donations in the back of your vehicle
- Staff will bring Speedpaks to your car to collect items
- Once unloading is finished, we’ll let you know when you’re good to go
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Peninsula – Palo Alto (One-day-only)
Drop-off day for the Peninsula is Thursday, July 30th.
Peninsula (Palo Alto) Drop-Off Signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45A8AF2EABFEC07-64511576-2026
LOCATION: The Hub at Stanford Research Park
3215 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304
BEFORE DROP-OFF
Please count the total number of filled vs. empty backpacks and email the totals to
Before you arrive, be sure that all donations are loaded into the trunk or back of your vehicle and that there are no personal items in those areas.
Place any leftover Drive materials (extra tags, etc.) in an envelope or bag.
Do not place monetary donations in with the leftover Drive Materials. Please place them in a separate envelope or bag clearly marked with your organization’s name and place them in the back with your donations (ideally at the very front so that we may secure it right as we open your vehicle).
DURING DROP-OFF
Drop-off will be right at the entrance/exit of the parking lot on Porter Drive/Hillview Avenue. When you pull in, make your way around the loop of the lot and then pull over to the loading zone on the right behind our truck to unload. Our staff will wheel Speedpaks (large cardboard boxes on wheels) to your vehicle to load up donations.
Once complete, FGT staff will give you the signal that you are good to go and you may proceed to pull out of the loading zone. You are welcome to park and dine at Coupa Cafe inside The Hub if you wish (there are spaces in the lot and also below ground parking lot).
Thank you for helping us maintain safe and efficient operations during drop-offs and thank you so much for joining us in supporting 35,000 students this Back-to-School season.
Together we can bring joy, grow hope, and create community!
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
Quick Drop-Off Locations
Locations:80+ Businesses around the Bay Area (see complete list here)
Dates: 6/13/2025 - 7/27/25
Times: Will vary depending on location
Appointments: Not required
Want to make a quick drop-off?
You’re welcome to stop by one of our Public Drive Leader locations! These generous community partners host collection boxes on our behalf, making it easy for you to give back while you’re out and about.
A quick heads-up:
Space may be limited, and staff or volunteers won’t be on-site to assist with unloading. If you're bringing a large donation, we recommend scheduling an appointment at one of our staffed locations so we can give your donation the care it deserves.
The donations dropped off at these locations will get counted towards the location's drive totals, so if you're a Drive Leader, we won't be able to track your donation for your group, so consider making an appointment at one of the above options instead if you'd like your donation count captured for your drive.
Thank You
Thanks to your incredible efforts, we aim to support over 35,000 students this Back-to-School season. Your leadership brings educational equity to life in our communities, and we couldn’t do it without you!
Questions? Reach out anytime at
