Community Services Agency to host ‘Back-to-School’ event to provide supplies for students in need

Community Services Agency (CSA) is hosting its annual “Back-To-School” donation event this Saturday, July 24, that will provide K-12 students with school supplies and gift cards.

Santa Clara County is supporting the event by allocating $5,000, to help the nonprofit organization purchase additional supplies, according to a press release from Supervisor Joe Simitian’s office.

“We know this past year has been extremely hard on our community, and we are so pleased that Supervisor Simitian’s office is partnering with us to provide important support for families as they get ready to go back to school,” Tom Meyers, CSA’s executive director, stated in the release. “We are also thrilled to provide CalFresh sign ups on the day of the event to help get families even more ongoing support.”

CSA, a nonprofit that offers safety net support for low-income and homeless families and seniors, has hosted the event for at least the past 10 years, according to Brandi Jothimani, the homeless prevention services director at CSA.

Last year, as the pandemic increased the need for rental and food assistance programs, the back-to-school event served about 590 children or 297 families, Jothimani said. Turnout is expected to be high this year as well. So far, 395 children are pre-registered for this Saturday, she said.

Families that are not already CSA clients need to register beforehand or on-site to receive supplies. Registration includes a quick screening process, Jothimani said, which entails verification of annual income and collection of basic demographic information, among other requirements.

Available supplies include $50 gift cards per child, backpacks and other school essentials such as folders, notebooks, calculators and color pencils. El Camino Hospital is running a mobile vaccination clinic at the site to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition, families will receive information on how to access other countywide services, including CalFresh, MediCal and local rental assistance programs. CalFresh representatives will be available onsite to provide people with information on food stamp benefits, Jothimani said.

The event will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at CSA, 204 Stierlin Road, Mountain View. Families interested in signing up should call (650) 968-0836.