Last year, just before the school year started, Mia’s family joined us at our Community Night Dinner. Mia’s family had been going through a tough time, and her mother, with tears in her eyes, confided that she couldn’t afford new school supplies for Mia. Safe & Sound jumped into action and provided Mia with a new backpack filled with all the essentials, and her face lit up with pure joy. She hugged the backpack tightly, like a treasure chest, and said, “Now I can go to school like everyone else.” For Mia and her family, that backpack was more than just supplies—it was hope, and a chance to start the school year on equal footing with her peers.
As we enjoy the beautiful start of summer, you can help Safe & Sound prepare for our annual Back-to-School drive for the upcoming school year. We are determined to support all the children and families we serve, especially those in vulnerable situations. The anticipation of a new school year, filled with learnings and friendships, often comes with significant stress for some families. Rising costs, financial constraints, and emotional strains make it difficult for many parents to afford essential school supplies for their children.
Imagine the joy of starting a new school year with a brand new backpack and new supplies, or the excitement in a child’s eyes on the first day back seeing friends. Our annual Back-to-School Drive provides all the essential items that a kid would need – a backpack with school supplies. This drive brings joy to nearly 250 kids each year, helping them start the school year with confidence and excitement.
Your generous donation allows us to purchase the school items that a child would need to attend a school. You can also donate by buying supplies directly from our Amazon wish list! Your support will bring smiles and hope to so many children in our community.
Your help is vital to our mission of ensuring families have access to the resources they need for a strong start to the school year. By reducing the financial burden and stress on parents, we can work together to prevent child abuse, neglect, and trauma, paving the way for a successful academic year. Thank you for considering partnering with us on this essential campaign.
To me, safe and sound is my mother’s voice. Her constant vigilance about my health and wellbeing. It’s her saying to me as I hurriedly rush out the front door of my childhood home (because I’ve stayed late into the night when I only planned for a quick family dinner) “text me when you get home safe and sound.” It’s her constant mantra, and is so familiar that I don’t even know if I actually hear her say it or if it’s overpowered by the many memories.
Of course, by the time I get home and finish unpacking the car of the leftovers my parents have strong-armed me to take (to “make sure I eat a good meal the next day”) and the bubbly water my mom sends home with me (as if I’m unable to shop for it myself), I’ve often forgotten to text her that I’m home. Shortly thereafter, I get the all familiar “home yet?”. Although annoyed at myself for forgetting (and depending on my mood, at my mother for her incessant need to know where I am and that I’m okay), I text her back.
I had the privilege of witnessing this identical behavior from my grandmother, who thrust her love and affection upon my mother. My mom, well into in her 70’s, would still respond to my grandmother’s safety inquiries. For example, everytime my mother would fly, my grandma would get four preemptive phone calls — once prior to each departure and once upon each landing. I suppose after 70 years, you learn the system. Here’s hoping one day I’m as clockwork as my mom, and stop forgetting the “made it home okay” text.
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As we were beginning to transition our name from the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center to Safe & Sound, I was curious to know what that phrase meant to others. I had heard various staff members’ thoughts, but we are all a part of the same mindset — in that we believe in the safety and protection of children so much so that we chose to make it our day job.
In an effort to learn more, I grabbed a colleague and headed out to Union Square. We spent a couple of hours discussing “safe and sound” with anyone who cared to talk to us, which included everyone from a San Francisco native, to a Marin local whose life work was caring for women at a domestic violence shelter, to three young male visitors from Dallas, to a bike messenger, to a variety of people from around the globe. Although it seemed to us that many of their lives were divergent, many of them shared the same sentiment.
Here’s some of what we heard:
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As we head into this new year, I ask you, what does safe and sound mean to you?
(Let us know in the comment box below)