On average, children in foster care will move schools at least once or twice a year, and over a third will experience five or more moves by the time they’re adults. When children in foster care move schools, they’re often coming with old supplies or none at all. It’s already estimated that children lose four to six months of academic progress per move. Children in foster care may struggle to keep up with their peers if they lack adequate supplies.
Getting Supplies for Your Foster Child
Your child may have been placed in your home before you even had time to process what happened. It’s important, however, to make sure your child is prepared for school.
Request a Supplies List
If time allows it, contact your child’s new teacher and kindly ask for a supplies list. This will prevent your child from showing up to school with not enough or too many supplies.
Don’t Wait
If you’re unable to receive a supplies list, shop for school supplies anyway. Don’t overthink it. The supplies you needed as a child haven’t change over the years.
Shop Together
If possible, try to go supplies-shopping with your child. Use this experience as a bonding activity, and try to get to know your child a little more. For example, ask your child to pick from different designs rather than plain supplies.
How You Can Help
Arizona Friends of Foster Children, along with other organizations, is proud to be participating in Executive Council Charities’ Backpack & School Supply Drive. Our goal is to provide 6,750 backpacks filled with supplies to children in foster care.
When you make a purchase, a child in foster care will receive a backpack filled with supplies such as the following:
- Notebook paper
- Spiral notebook
- Folders
- Pens
- Pencils
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Markers
- Erasers
- Sharpener
- Ruler
- Glue
- Glue Stick
- Tablet
- Highlighter
Make a difference and buy a backpack here.