Supplies for Success was founded by Mindy Richenstein under the umbrella of UJA-Federation of New York in 2002. It has grown from serving 68 children in year one to more than 40,000 in year 23. More than 250,000 disadvantaged children have received new backpacks filled with age-appropriate school supplies before the first day of school so they can start on a more level playing field and look to education as their pathway out of poverty. 

 

We distribute filled backpacks to our nonprofit community partners; including, homeless and domestic violence shelters, health and human service organizations, churches, synagogues, and schools during the summer. 

 

Supplies for Success hosts or facilitates backpack assembly events where volunteers fill backpacks with essential supplies. With the advent of the pandemic, we added art activity CareKits to our tools for learning. Many are packed at CareKit packing parties. 50,000 have been distributed through 2024.

 

In addition to backpack assembly events and CareKit packing parties, Supplies for Success also drop ships pre-assembled backpacks directly to community partners for distribution to the students they serve locally.

 

With our buying power, we purchase loose supplies and backpacks for pennies on the dollar. We work with tried and true suppliers from whom we purchase the supplies and the backpacks at negotiated, below wholesale pricing.

 

We can ship a minimum of 10 backpacks or 15 CareKits per location.

 

Supplies for Success has grown so much that we launched as an independent nonprofit on December 11, 2018. Supplies for Success became a 501(c)(3) public charity in May, 2019. As such, all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We'll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

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