By Barbara Smith
Photos by SDPD Community Resource Officer Jennifer Gregory, Courtesy of One San Diego and Katherine Eve Photography
Many San Diego school children’s lives got a little brighter last week, thanks to a joint effort of One San Diego, a non-profit dedicated to creating a unified San Diego with strong communities; the San Diego Police Department, Southeastern Division; a host of parents, and, yes, a group of enthusiastic student volunteers, all of whom pooled their energy and resources to make a positive difference during these troubling times.
Cesar Chavez Elementary and Audubon Elementary Schools were hubs of excitement on Thursday, April 30, where SDPD officers greeted some of San Diego’s young and most needy students with colorful backpacks filled with school supplies, and fun educational materials.
The distribution was an extension of One San Diego’s “We Have Your Back” program, which earlier this school year distributed 3700 backpacks to San Diego City Schools students.
The mission of One San Diego is to find ways for communities to connect, and to that end, school children from the Del Sur community, “built” the backpacks, filling them with pencils, pens, books, educational games, and also with kindness notes.
“We want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our Juvenile Services Team, Community Relations Officers and our school administrators for making this distribution event possible,” said Lt. Al Ambito, San Diego Police Dept., Southeastern Division.
