CommunityDuty

We take a break from our regularly scheduled content to talk about something a little different today.

Every year around this time we get ready for our kids, nephews, nieces and grandkids to go back to school. As a father of three, I make the annual journey to my local Target and start the process of buying all the supplies needed for school. My kids love it, they get to buy their new backpacks, pencils, marker, and binders — ready to start the new school year right.

But we are lucky.

Not every child can make that trip to buy all things they need to start the school year right. Sometimes life gets complicated and buying a brand new backpack isn’t something every parent can do.

Here at PagerDuty we decided that to try to make a difference in the lives of a few kids, by helping them start the new school year right. We teamed up with Family Giving Tree, and helped with their annual Back-to-School drive to provide backpacks filled with school supplies and books to local K-12 children who need it the most in our communities.

What this organization is doing is great.

Starting the school year of right, can make the biggest difference in success. When children start off with that large a deficit (like missing the basic supplies they need), their ability to succeed in school diminishes. All too often, they fall further and further behind their peers. Tragically, on average only 9% of children living in-need ever earn a college degree.

Together, we can make a difference though, and make sure every child starts the school year off right by donating a backpack or even leading a drive. In doing so, we also hope to inspire the values of kindness, philanthropy and volunteerism.

As the new school years starts please consider donating to the Family Giving Tree or any other charity that may be holding a Back-to-School drive.