Pack2School is Back for 2026

Every year, Safe Shores partners with community members to provide child victims of abuse with supplies they will need for the coming school year. By sponsoring a child’s school supply list, you can help ensure that child victims and their siblings have everything they need to start the school year off right!

This year, there are three ways to support the 2026 Pack2School Drive:
1. Sponsor a backpack and school supply list for a child (or supplies for more than one child). To become a sponsor, complete the Pack2School Sponsor Request Form by Friday, July 17.

2. Make a monetary donation and let Safe Shores do the shopping. No donation is too small, and every gift helps Safe Shores equip child victims and their siblings with the tools they need for the school year ahead.

3. Spread the word by sharing Pack2School information with friends or loved ones who may be interested in participating!

Backpack sponsors will be given a list with all the school supplies needed for that child according to their grade level. These lists can range from 10 items (for pre-K children) to as many as 20+ items (for older youth). We ask that sponsors commit to purchasing each item on their respective supply list(s).

The average cost of a fully supplied backpack is between $110 – $175.

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for specific ages/genders.

You will be matched to a client within 3-5 business days of your sign-up. The deadline for dropping off supplies is Tuesday, July 28th.

Yes! We ask that people first consider sponsoring a backpack or making a monetary donation so that we can purchase supplies, as it can be hard to estimate how many children we can support when people aren’t signing up to sponsor an entire backpack.

That said, if you would like to sponsor a backpack or donate and organize your friends to donate additional supplies, be our guest! We only ask that you notify us in advance if you plan to donate additional supplies.

Here are two ways you can organize a group:

1. Collect new, unused items from DC Public School’s K-12 School Supply List and then drop them off at our building located at 429 O Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. Safe Shores will use items to assemble backpacks or will distribute them throughout the year as clients express the need for additional supplies.

2. Set up a virtual fundraiser to raise funds that Safe Shores will use to buy essential school supplies, like backpacks or graphing calculators! Any funds unspent at the end of Pack2School will go toward meeting clients’ other pressing needs. For help setting up a virtual fundraiser, email givetoachild@safeshores.org.

You can drop off your completed backpack at our building located at 429 O Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 in the Shaw neighborhood. Please sign up for a drop off time through Calendly so we can make sure a member of our team is there to meet you.