Joint Effort Delivers School Supplies To South Bay Kids In Need

By Tony Hicks, Bay City News Foundation

SUNNYVALE, CA — When Sunnyvale Community Services' personnel hand out back-to-school supplies for 1,600 low-income students on Monday, it will be the result of a joint effort nearly spanning the United States.

Boxes of supplies were due in Sunnyvale last week, but COVID-19-related shipping delays stalled them in Memphis.

Members of the Sunnyvale Rotary Club reached out to three similar clubs in the Memphis area. Those clubs contacted local logistics people and executives at Federal Express, where the supplies had stalled. FedEx management helped negotiate the transfer of the shipment and arranged for a partner shipping company to drive them to California by Sunday evening, according to a release from Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS).

FedEx executives also donated $6,000 to cover the costs of the expedited shipping.

SCS volunteers, staff, members of its board, and other community members will hand out the supplies to pre-registered SCS client families, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, at the parking lot of Sunnyvale Community Services, 725 Kifer Road, Sunnyvale.

Children will receive age-appropriate school supply kits, gift cards for new backpacks, and new school shoes, the SCS' Head-to-Toe program. Items will be placed in vehicle trunks, with client families remaining in their vehicles.

Families who aren't yet registered SCS clients can contact the organization after Aug. 3 to see if they qualify for assistance, at https://svcommunityservices.org/.

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