Our Programs
Back to School Clothing Drive is the largest and oldest distributor of school uniforms, backpacks, and school supplies to children in the Valley of the Sun.
Requirements for Schools and Select Social Servie Agencies to Participate
Please Note: We work exclusively through Valley elementary schools. As such, we are not a direct service provider to invididuals or the general public.
If you represent a K-6 Title 1 elementary school or social service agency in Maricopa County you may be able to participate our programs based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Families in Need of Assistance
If your family is in need of clothing and school supplies, you can contact your child’s elementary school and ask if they have any clothes available form their clothing closets. Alternatively, you can contact the Salvation Army, Assistance League of Phoenix, or the City of Phoenix Family Services Center for potential help.
Our Two Signature Programs
New Clothes New Beginnings Annual Distribution
More than 5,500 kids attend our Annual New Clothes New Beginnings Distribution event each summer while another 4,000 receive backpacks and school supplies through our partnership with the BHHS Legacy Foundation. All told over 10,000 kids get ready for school each year as a result of the annual event.
The Distribution event is held at the University Public Schools Phoenix where the gymnasium is transformed into a department store that becomes a shopping extravaganza for our kids. The annual event attracts more than 2,500 volunteers to help over the one-week event from local corporations, small businesses, high schools, other civic and other charitable organizations. More than 130 schools from 40 school districts participate in this program each year.
Want to register your school? Contact Jean Pegler at jean@backtoschoolclothingdrive.com or Krissy Miskovsky at krissy@backtoschoolclothingdrive.com or by calling 623.842.1727.
Please contact your school’s superintendent to determine if other schools in your district participate and then contact us to register your school. Participating schools and agencies must bus their children to the event. Families are not allowed to attend or drop their children off at the event. This is a no exception policy. All participants from each school must arrive together as a group on the same bus and leave as a group. Social service agencies designated to particpate must arrange for transportation of their children as a group to and from the event. If this cannot be arranged then your school, agency or organization cannot participate. Partner schools and allocated 50-100 slots for their school and are registered well in advance for our event. You must contact your child’s elementary school, determine if they are a participant in our programs, and sign up to attent the annual distribution event held each July. We do not accept walk-in’s at the event.
Students Attire For Education (SAFE) Matching Grant Program
ATTENTION: Schools receiving Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust funds
You can double your money received through the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust by simply becoming a Back to School SAFE School! Apply now as funds are limited to first-come-first-serve.
School Administrators: Apply for a SAFE Matching Grant Now!
Our exclusive SAFE Matching Grant Program helps Title 1 public elementary schools with mandatory school uniform policies provide clothing assistance to children in need. Schools must be classified as Title 1 schools to participate. Back to School Clothing Drive provides matching funds up to $2,500 to eligible schools who in turn purchase the uniforms they need for the day closets to assist students in need. Learn more about the SAFE program and download and application under Our Programs.
