Backpacks, pencils, and the first day of school

There is something about school supply drives that gets to me every time.

It is not the logistics, though those are real. It is the specificity of what is needed. Not a general donation. Not a check. A backpack. Pencils. Folders. Crayons. The exact things a child needs to walk into a classroom and participate.

Universal Events has supported school supply drives in several of the markets where we work. The process is straightforward: our teams coordinate with community partners, set up collection points, and help organize the distribution. The volume varies. The reaction does not.

There is a particular look on a parent's face when a child comes home with a full backpack that was not there before. Something between relief and dignity. The look of a problem solved by people who did not have to solve it.

What this work is for

I started Universal Events with a clear purpose: to build the infrastructure that lets mission-driven organizations do more of what they are there to do. School supply drives are one of the places where that purpose is most concrete. The math is simple. Students with supplies can focus on learning. Students worrying about where their supplies are coming from cannot.

The first day of school matters. What a child carries into it matters. We can help make sure that is not a worry.