Community

Oakland Natives Give Back to Children at City Hall’s Attend and Achieve Back to School Event

Published

11 years ago

August 28, 2014

The Attend and Achieve Back to School event welcomed over 950 students Saturday who walked away with backpacks filled with notebooks, pencils and other necessary school supplies.

The annual backpack and school supply giveaway held at Oakland’s City Hall included food, fun and other festivities sponsored by Oakland Natives Gives Back, the Office of Mayor Jean Quan and the Office of Assemblyman Rob Bonta. Students registered in the early morning and had the opportunity to enjoy an outdoor concert prior to the school supply distribution.

“Ensuring kids are prepared for school is really important and the best foundation for their educational experience,” said Dr. Nyeisha DeWitt, co-founder of Oakland Natives Give Back.

Established in 2008, Oakland Natives Give Back is the vision of founders DeWitt, Dee Dee Abdur-Rahim, and Tameka Raymond. All natives of Oakland, the ladies formed their team to spread solidarity with Oakland and surrounding communities.

Derrick Johnson, one of many local business owners of Oakland Natives Gives Back, had a school supply drive at his Home of Chicken and Waffles restaurants in Oakland and Walnut Creek.

“These kids deserve the best and our restaurant patrons were generous the past few weeks,” said Johnson.

DeWitt, an active member of the Oakland Unified School District’s Truancy Task Force and Effective Teachers for Oakland Task Force, works very closely with the Office of Mayor Quan and Oakland’s Promise Alliance.

Skipping class is the beginning of a downward spiral, says DeWitt who adds that she was a high school dropout. Today, the mother of three is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Clara School of Law.

With the support of Assemblyman Rob Bonta and Attorney General Kamala Harris, DeWitt says students will have a chance to earn prizes for school attendance.

“We really want to make our back to school effort a year-round project and with lots of support, our children will be rewarded for their success and school attendance,” she said.

For more information, visit oaklandnatives.org.