Issaquah School District Students Receive Backpacks, Supplies, and So Much More

Nearly 1,000 families attended the 2nd annual Issaquah School District Back-to-School Resource Fair on August 13. Thanks to community partners like The Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, the Issaquah Community Center, The Circle, the Issaquah PTSA Council, and others, families were able to shop for free back-to-school clothes and learn about resources available in the area. The Issaquah Schools Foundation was also in attendance with their Tools4School program, distributing nearly 900 new backpacks filled with school supplies to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

35 volunteers including parents, students, alumni, parents of alumni, teachers and community partners helped pack backpacks with supplies, sort extras, and distribute at the Resource Fair. For many it is the highlight of the back-to-school season. Volunteer Kris Pottsmith shared “I have so much fun with the kids! One little girl starting 1st grade was very excited to pick out her backpack and get a box of supplies. When I pointed to the backpacks she pointed right back at me and said that she would see me at the end of 1st grade!”.

For more than 10 years, individuals and businesses have donated to the Tools4School program, ensuring that every student in the district, regardless of their personal circumstances, starts the school year with the supplies they need. Recent Skyline High School graduate Hannah shared what this program meant to her when she started in the Issaquah School District as a 2nd grader – “To most kids, it was just an ordinary box filled with regular school supplies. But to me, it was an opportunity wrapped in a message, a message that I was seen, that I mattered, and that I could do anything regardless of where I came from.”

An increasing number of ISD families face financial challenges, with the number qualifying for free and reduced lunch growing 58% in the last five years. Tools4School allows these families to save on the high cost of school supplies so money can be used elsewhere. This year, thanks to increased community giving, the Foundation was also able to provide over 250 new lunch boxes along with new socks and underwear, all a big hit with students. One elementary aged student shared a hug with volunteer Kim Goodman, saying “thank you for the lunch bag”.

Middle and High School students and families especially appreciated the addition of laptop backpacks this year as all secondary students receive ISD-issued laptops and these backpacks provide extra protection for them. The Foundation couldn’t have met this new need without the support of community partners, including Sammamish Presbyterian Church, Disney VoluntEARS, Amazon, Toys4Kids, Rotary Club of Issaquah, Kiwanis Club of Issaquah, King County, Windermere Foundation, and Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Additional backpacks and supplies will be provided to schools throughout the district for students not able to attend the Resource Fair and for those that join during the school year. Preschool students at the Holly Street ISD preschool will also receive backpacks.

Issaquah Schools Foundation Executive Director, Trisha Marshall shares “No child should come to school on the first day worried that they don’t have what they need or that they don’t belong. Thank you to the donors, volunteers, partners and all who make sure every student can start school with the confidence that comes from knowing there is a community that cares standing behind them helping them thrive.”

To learn more about the work of the Issaquah Schools Foundation and to add your support, visit isfdn.org. Stay updated by following ISF on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Issaquah Schools Foundation: Established in 1987, the Issaquah Schools Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) organization, has raised more than $30 million in private fundraising dollars to support the students and educators of the Issaquah School District. The district covers 110 square miles in Issaquah, Bellevue, Sammamish, Newcastle and Renton, and supports more than 18,000 students. Learn more about why Foundation-funded programs are needed here.