Bella's Backpacks

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" -Nelson Mandela

Hello everyone! My name is Bella Fauzi. I am currently a senior at Virginia Tech. I was born in the country of Indonesia. When I was four years old, my parents made the life-changing decision to move our family to America so that my sister and I could pursue higher quality education. I am forever grateful that I was blessed with the many wonderful educational opportunities that are available in the U.S. However, many children around the world do not have the same access to opportunities or resources to obtain even a basic education. The goal of Bella's Backpacks is to provide elementary school children in Hawaii with backpacks fully stocked with basic school supplies.

The idea of Bella's Backpacks stemmed from my passion for children and education. Throughout high school and freshman year of college, a majority of my service work involved educating at-risk youth and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. I have tutored, mentored, assisted in teaching, and volunteered in literacy programs with children. Oftentimes, these children have little access to books, technology, and other resources that hinder them from getting ahead or even keeping up with their fellow peers due to financial issues. I have witnessed first hand the joy, excitement, and value children gain from learning and receiving new educational material. It is in these little moments of joy that I realize how often we take basic things for granted.

Why Hawaii? Hawaii is a place I hold close to my heart. A couple summers ago, I volunteered on the Big Island of Hawaii through Habitat for Humanity. During my trip, I met so many wonderful souls, experienced the beauty and magic of the land, and was most surprised to learn of the high, yet overlooked poverty rate in Hawaii. According to 2016 statistics, Hawaii has the 6th highest poverty rate in the nation and 52 percent of public school children are economically disadvantaged. Upon researching other similar charities and organizations that donated fully school supply stocked backpacks, I found only a few that targeted educational support for school children in Hawaii.

As for logistics, I will be collecting monetary donations through GoFundMe. I will use 100% of these donations in the purchase of necessary school supplies and the backpacks that will be given to the school children. I will be traveling to Hawaii in the summer of 2017. During this time, I will personally purchase school supplies, package each backpack, and distribute the backpacks to a Title 1 elementary school in an underdeveloped area.

Each backpack will be stocked with these basic school supplies:
-notebooks
-folders
-erasers
-sharpeners
-pencils
-glue sticks
-calculator
-scissors
-crayons
-markers

In total, it costs $15 to provide a child with a backpack. These costs include the materials (school supplies and bag) to fund one backpack for a child. However, every penny counts and any amount is greatly appreciated!

My goal of $600 includes the cost of providing 35 children with one of Bella's Backpacks plus the additional percentage that GoFundMe and WePay (the money processing system) takes from its fundraisers.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my fundraising page. Please donate if you can, it can make all the difference in a child's education. Also please share, share, share!! Spreading the word is so simple, yet powerful. The value of education goes far beyond pencil and paper. It gives a child hope for a brighter, more accessible future. Have a great day! :)