Putting Kids First: Community Back To School Program

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Putting Kids First: Community Back to School Program is a public-private partnership where government joins forces with non-profit and community service organizations to provide free school supplies and services to Palm Beach County children in need. First launched in 2013, this program allowed the County to increase the number of students served from 3,000 to over 12,000 children countywide in 2013, 13,000 children in 2014 and over 14,000 children in 2015. This has been possible through the Palm Beach County Office of Community Revitalization’s (OCR) creative partnership with the Community Back to School Bash (CBSB). The CBSB is a collaborative comprised of close to 100 non-profit and other agencies throughout Palm Beach County that serve disadvantaged students Kindergarten through 12th grade from low or no-income families to better address the needs in the communities the County serves. Through the partnership, and without increasing the annual allocation of County funding, the County was able to triple the number of students served, and provide them with supplies, backpacks, information and resources to empower them to begin the school year with confidence.