STATE Bags Wants to Make Sure All Kids are Back-to-School-Ready
It seems as if summer just started, but now here we are already getting into back-to-school mode. And while some parents scurry to clothing and office supply stores to make sure their kids have all the tools they need once classes are in session again, others aren’t as fortunate. STATE Bags intends to do something about it.
The brand teamed up with Roc Nation and President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative this summer to donate 30,000 bags to underprivileged kids across America. Together they’ve tapped Roc Nation artists and athletes to attend Bag Drop rallies, where backpacks are handed out to the kids. Yahoo Style attended one last week in Brooklyn at P.S. 284, the Gregory “Jocko” Jackson School for Sports, Arts, and Technology.
These Bag Drop rallies encourage kids to adopt a positive, empowered attitude. And it is truly uplifting to see, especially at the end, when each child is given a backpack filled with essential school supplies.
“We don’t like to say that we are changing the world or changing lives because we’re giving a bag. We’re planting a seed and we’re giving kids something new that they can put their possessions in, that they can feel proud of, that they can wear every single day to school,” STATE Bags co-founder Scot Tatelman told Yahoo Style.
STATE Bags follows the one-for-one business model, meaning that for every bag sold, it donates one filled with supplies. For recording artist Santigold, who was on hand for the Bag Drop, STATE’s initiative holds a special place in her heart.
“We all know the future of our country and our planet is dependent on how well prepared the children are to deal with all the issues facing us,” she told us. “We need to arm them with an excellent education, to shape them into creative thinkers, innovators who are respectful and open to differences, and understand the value of nurturing a global community. We also need to bridge the widening economic gap to make sure that a good education is accessible to everyone. Each child deserves an opportunity to learn in a nurturing and safe environment.”
The STATE Bags vision fits right in here, giving kids the necessary tools so that it’s easier for them to get that education. It might not be something as major as a scholarship, but a good schoolbag is a start. Santigold, who still carries a backpack herself, has a young son and, like any mom, is concerned about the future. This cause provides her an opportunity to help in a small way to secure that future and make it better not only for her child but for all children. “[My son is] 2, and he’s so interested and articulate — everything is an adventure. You see the spirit that they start out with, and you want them to keep that. There are so many reasons why they might lose it.”
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