St. Anthony's Free Clothing Program Organizes Last Minute Back-to-School Giveaway For Tenderloin Youth and Their Families

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Anthony's Free Clothing Program teamed up with a number of companies and community groups to organize a last minute Back-to-School giveaway in response to a spike in demand for back-to-school clothing and supplies.  In a matter of days, over 50 families and 150 children in the Tenderloin signed up to receive back-to-school items consisting of two new outfits, backpacks, and school supplies.  Companies including Old Navy, Walgreens, Live Nation, and School Bags for Kids, along with a number of individual donors, mobilized in short order to respond to St. Anthony's urgent request for donated items.  Employees from Adobe will spend the afternoon before the event assembling bags at St. Anthony's clothing warehouse.

ST. ANTHONY'S BACK-TO-SCHOOL GIVEAWAY
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
August 23rd
1185 Mission Street (@ 8th Street)

According to data collected by St. Anthony's, the number of homeless families reaching out for free clothes has doubled in the last year.  For the majority of these families, school supplies and back-to-school clothes fall to the wayside as they struggle to secure housing and food.  Thanks to an outpouring of support from the community, St. Anthony's Free Clothing Program will ensure all 50 families are fully prepared to head back to school in style. 

Executive Director Shari Roeseler remarked, "St. Anthony's is so fortunate to connect a critical need with a groundswell of support from people around the Bay Area.  In times like these, San Franciscans prove again and again that we are a city committed to taking care of each other.  On behalf of all the kids who will sport new clothes and a backpack full of school supplies, we extend a heartfelt thanks to the community for making this event possible."

St. Anthony's Free Clothing Program, the largest in San Francisco, serves 8,550 men and women including 450 families annually.  For more information on St. Anthony Foundation, visit www.stanthonysf.org or LIKE St. Anthony Foundation on Facebook.

SOURCE St. Anthony Foundation