GILROY
– Needy families in Gilroy received a little back-to-school help
from a big-hearted Fremont teenager for the second year in a
row.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Needy families in Gilroy received a little back-to-school help from a big-hearted Fremont teenager for the second year in a row.
The Gilroy Family Resource Center provided 100 children with backpacks and school supplies donated by Winnie Kao, 17, and little sister Wanda on Friday afternoon.
The backpacks, filled with notebooks, binder paper, pens, pencils, book covers and rulers, were given to children in foster homes and families who attend programs at the Family Resource Center.
“For some families, it’s a lot of money to go out and get a backpack and all the school supplies,” said Sue Averett, supervisor of the resource center. “It can really be a financial burden for families who can barely make ends meet as it is.”
Most of the backpacks were given away Friday, and Averett said the rest will be donated by the end of today.
The children who received the backpacks both this year and last year might be looking forward to a more successful school year, Averett said.
“It helps their self-esteem if they have a backpack, too,” she said. “It makes them more organized. . . and the books kids carry around nowadays are so heavy.”
This is the second year that Winnie, with Wanda’s help, has collected backpacks for underprivileged schoolchildren. She got the idea from one of her father’s lectures about her messy room. Feeling fortunate to have all the school supplies she needed, Winnie called up local businesses and asked them to donate backpacks or essential supplies to children who could not afford them.
Winnie brought about 50 backpacks to Gilroy last fall following the suggestion of a relative who worked for Santa Clara County and knew about the Gilroy Family Resource Center’s services. She also donated to several other centers around the county.
Based on Winnie’s success last year and the publicity her cause attracted, she was able to donate more than twice the amount of backpacks this year using the numerous cash donations she received from Gilroy families. The Kaos purchased backpacks and supplies in large quantities at back-to-school sales, while still receiving some donations directly from businesses.
“(Winnie’s) got an entrepreneurial spirit and she really wants to help” Averett said. “It’s something that’s real meaningful for her.”
Anyone seeking to make a donation to the Kaos can contact Averett at the Gilroy Family Resource Center at 846-5000.
The center, located at 7560 Monterey St., is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. Services include parent education classes, support groups and youth development.
