The start of every school year is a whirlwind, and this year was no exception for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Imagine 2,500 teachers wrapping up a week of intense lesson planning and professional development with just a single, jam-packed day to prep their classrooms. And add new materials, staff changes, and that feeling of excitement and anticipation to the chaos! But here’s the plot twist: instead of flying solo, SFUSD’s 2,500 teachers get a boost of support from Ed Fund volunteers!
On Friday, August 16, classrooms were alive with the energy of over 300 dedicated volunteers. These community and corporate volunteers gave nearly 822 hours of their time across 24 schools so SFUSD teachers could hit the ground running Monday morning. From creating bulletin boards to organizing textbooks to painting to setting up furniture and even tidying classrooms, volunteers transformed the school setup process into collaborative celebration.
We loved hearing directly from our school leaders and educators during and following the event. “Our year is starting off much brighter because of all of you,” said Assistant Principal of Washington High School Ed Marquez. The Principal of Thurgood Marshall Sarah Ballard Hanson echoed his sentiment: “I am so appreciative that you took your time to help us out today. We really wouldn’t have been able to get everything done without you!”
This year’s turnout was nothing short of spectacular–we saw a 36% increase in volunteers year-over-year, making Friday our largest volunteer event since before the pandemic! The community’s response was overwhelming, proving its deep investment in our public schools once again.
And volunteers had fun during their shifts! As volunteer Julia Gitis stated: “We loved connecting with the amazing teachers at each school and helping them out at this special time. It’s like being backstage at the coolest concert!”
A significant driver of this year’s success was the enthusiastic involvement from our corporate volunteers. Circle the Schools is the Ed Fund’s corporate partnership program, and features a corporate volunteer component that brings the time, talent, and resources of local companies into our public schools. These partnerships benefit both schools and participating companies.
This year, we were thrilled to see a robust lineup of Circle the Schools partners rally their teams to volunteer. A huge shoutout to BCG, Cisco, Deloitte, Dropbox, Hanson Bridgett LLP, NextRoll, Rakuten, Salesforce, and Waymo for their contributions. Special thanks to Salesforce for leading the charge with their employees supporting Back-to-School Setup at 12 schools!
Adding to the excitement, this year saw an impressive array of new organizations joining the effort. Culture Amp, Engineering350, Gap, Google, Lyft, Marina Run Club, Native American Health Center, Students Rising Above, Walk SF and Thumbtack all brought fresh energy and resources to the table. Their participation was crucial in making this year’s event exceptional.
One standout new partner was Mission Bit, a San Francisco-based nonprofit with a mission that resonates deeply with the Ed Fund and SFUSD: bridging the digital divide by offering coding classes and tech workshops to high-benefit students.
In the 10 years since its inception, Circle the Schools partners have made a tremendous impact across SFUSD, serving over 109,000 students, volunteering more than 48,000 hours, and donating over $2.3 million in resources, including books, meals, and supplies. This support is a testament to the power of community involvement, and we couldn’t be prouder of our Circle the Schools program. If your company wants to join us, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to Ronald Lyons, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at rlyons@sfedfund.org to learn more.
Now, as the 2024-25 school year unfolds, let’s celebrate the incredible synergy between our schools and community partners. Here’s to another year of learning, growth, and collaborative success in SFUSD!
