By Khalida Sarwari
For the next two weeks, hundreds of volunteers in Milpitas will spend their summer days stuffing roughly 15,000 backpacks for underprivileged children.
Beginning Wednesday, more than 600 volunteers of all ages will fill the backpacks with essential school supplies including binder paper, rulers, pencils, erasers, glue sticks and markers.
The backpacks, which were donated by iStar Financial, will then be distributed to more than 100 elementary and middle schools and human services agencies throughout the Bay Area starting Aug. 10.
Most of the schools are concentrated in the South Bay, and all of them have a large percentage of students who are eligible for reduced-price meals. The human services agencies will give the backpacks to low-income families who cannot easily afford to buy supplies.
The volunteers will meet every day through Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Family Giving Tree warehouse at 560 Cottonwood Drive.
Family Giving Tree is a nonprofit organization that provides back-to-school supplies and fulfills the holiday wishes of children in need.