As the cost of school supplies becomes more expensive – rising to an average $100 per child annually –families continue to struggle to afford just the basics. Providing necessary back-to-school supplies is an added financial hardship. If households had to choose between paying the electric bill or paying for school supplies, families are often forced to choose to keep the lights on. We call these households ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)
Join United Way Tools For School and help ensure over 13,000 local students in need receive the tools for academic success. Through your donations, you can help elementary, middle, and high school students from northern New Jersey get off to the right start.
Please join us as we help children from ALICE households and those in poverty get a great start on the new school year! It’s EASY! It’s important! It’s fun!
Here are some ways to help:
* Run a Tools for School supply drive for new school supplies with your company, community group, faith organization, youth group, family or on your own! Sign Up HERE to participate in this year's Tools for School program.
* To donate/provide one or more needed backpack(s) filled with school supplies: 2026TFS
* Donate or run an online donation drive via our partner, YouGiveGoods. Click HERE for the link to the 2026 drive page.
* Make a donation from our Amazon Tools for School Wishlist (which will be delivered to us):
* Make a monetary donation, which will be used to purchase needed school supplies and gift cards for additional school essentials for students. Click HERE to make a donation.
* Volunteering: For those running a drive or donating needed supplies, you are invited to register to volunteer in person at our Tools for School location in Bridgewater, NJ. Please check back on this site on July 17, 2026 to register for one or more volunteer slots during the weeks of August 3 - 8 and August 10-12, 2026, which is when we will be working to pack backpacks and provide school supplies to local families.
* Sponsorships - if your company, business or group would be interested in becoming a sponsor for this year's Tools for School program, we will happily share sponsorship information. There are a variety of sponsorship levels and they all come with benefits for your group (including guaranteed volunteer slots for many sponsor levels). For more information, please contact Lisa Galonardo at Lisa.Galonardo@unitedwaynnj.org.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Lisa Galonardo (Lisa.Galonardo@unitedwaynnj.org)
Thank you for your interest in assisting ALICE families and those experiencing poverty and giving their children a great start on the new school year.
