Backpacks should not be a stressor for kids starting the school year
This past July, as families in Pasadena prepared for the new school year, many worried about how to cover the cost of backpacks and supplies. Friends In Deed, a local nonprofit, flagged the need, and the CCS Facility Services Los Angeles team stepped in to help.
Business Development Manager Sharifa Dorsainvil, with support from General Manager Tony Ramirez and office staff, coordinated the purchase of backpacks and school supplies funded by CCS Facility Services, and the team assembled the bags with notebooks, folders, pencils, and other classroom essentials. On delivery day, the team loaded a CCS Facility Services van and headed to Friends In Deed’s Pasadena location.
Friends In Deed had set up an assembly line to organize and distribute the supplies to kids and families. CCS Facility Services employees joined in, unloading the van and meeting families as they collected backpacks. “Watching the kids’ faces light up when they picked out their backpack was the highlight,” Sharifa said. “It reminded me that something small to us can feel huge to them.”
After the drop-off, Friends In Deed staff gave CCS Facility Services a tour of its facility and talked about ways to continue working together. For the CCS Facility Services team, this experience was another step toward regular community service efforts.
Tony said it best: “At the end of the day, our role is about more than service contracts. We live here too, and it matters to us that kids in our community start school with what they need. Seeing their excitement reminds us why giving back is just as important as the work we do every day.”
