Willowbrook Mall School Supply Drive Helps Houston-Area Children Start the Year Ready
For families preparing for a new school year, a backpack filled with pencils, notebooks and folders may seem routine. For a child who has recently been uprooted from home or entered the care of Child Protective Services, those same supplies can offer something deeper: confidence, stability and the chance to walk into class feeling prepared.
Willowbrook Mall’s participation in the annual BEAR School Supply Drive is now underway, giving northwest Houston residents a convenient way to help. New, unopened school supplies may be placed in the collection box near the mall’s Food Court Entrance through Saturday, Aug. 1.
The drive benefits BEAR — Be A Resource for CPS Kids — and its annual Back to School program, which provides backpacks and classroom supplies to more than 17,000 at-risk and CPS-involved children each year throughout the Greater Houston area.
What School Supplies Are Needed?
BEAR is requesting only new and unopened items. Suggested donations include clear or regular backpacks, No. 2 pencils, pens in black, blue or red, crayons, washable markers, highlighters, erasers, glue sticks, rulers, scissors and pencil sharpeners.
Residents may also donate pencil cases, three-ring binders, pocket folders, book covers, index cards, construction paper, manila paper, graph paper, notebook paper in college-ruled or wide-ruled formats, spiral notebooks, composition books and USB flash drives.
Even a small collection of supplies can help fill a backpack for a local student who might otherwise begin the year without basic classroom materials. To view the full list of supplies suggestions, please click here.
BEAR Provides Help During Uncertain Times
BEAR is a Houston-area nonprofit that has supported vulnerable children for 29 years. Its mission is to provide hope and practical assistance to at-risk and CPS-involved children and their caregivers, including children who may have left home with few or no personal belongings.
The organization is not part of CPS, but it works with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Harris County Resources for Children and Adults to help caseworkers access supplies for children with active cases. Its year-round programs provide clothing, shoes, diapers, hygiene products and other necessities, along with school supplies, holiday gifts and Heart Gallery services for children awaiting adoption.
Caseworkers who serve these children have described how quickly donated items can ease the pressure on families and caregivers.
“The families that I serve are typically low income and many are grandparents with limited income. Some of our children are uprooted from their homes without any personal belongings. The families are very grateful for BEAR’s assistance with uniforms and school supplies.”
Another caseworker shared, “The Back to School Program has made a significant impact on the children being prepared for the upcoming school year.”
“Because of your generosity many children are able to begin the school year with clean clothes and school supplies.”
A fourth caseworker explained the broader impact: “Your donations have contributed in many children staying in their placement longer, having their needs met by the caregiver and excelling in school. Please continue to help our families so that permanency can be achieved for all the kids that Child Protective Services serve.”
More Ways to Support BEAR’s Back to School Program
In addition to donating at Willowbrook Mall, community members can drop off school supplies at Deerbrook Mall, First Colony Mall and The Woodlands Mall through Aug. 1. Donation boxes are located near each mall’s Heart Gallery of Greater Houston exhibit, and items may also be taken to the mall office.
Residents, businesses, schools and community organizations may host their own supply drives and deliver donations to BEAR’s headquarters and warehouse at 3572 E. TC Jester Blvd. in Houston by Friday, Sept. 4. The facility is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and BEAR encourages earlier deliveries whenever possible so volunteers can begin filling children’s requests. In-kind donors should also complete BEAR’s In-Kind Gift Form.
Supporters may contribute financially, purchase items through BEAR’s Amazon Back-to-School Wishlist or volunteer to pack backpacks, accept and organize donations, and assist with off-site distributions. Volunteer opportunities are available for individuals, families and companies, although space is limited for each shift.
For Willowbrook-area shoppers, the mall collection box offers a simple way to turn an ordinary errand into a meaningful start to the school year for a child in need.
Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more ways to support local students, families and nonprofit organizations across Greater Houston.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.