Supervisor Katy Tang: Free Supplies for Students

Second Annual Back-to-School Supply Drive
As students approach the end of their summer vacation, families are beginning to think about back-to-school supply shopping. Recognizing that this can be a stressful time for students and families, our office wants to make back-to-school easier for our Sunset District residents. That is why we are partnering with Walgreens stores in the Sunset for our second annual Back-to-School Supply Drive to provide school supplies for District 4 students and teachers.

This year's Back-to-School Supply Drive will be held on Sunday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., at the Ortega Branch Library, located at 3223 Ortega St.

The school supply drive began in mid-July and will continue through Friday, Aug. 15. Walgreens customers can donate school supplies at the following locations:

• 2050 Irving St. (between 21st and 22nd avenues);

• 1201 Taraval St. (between 22nd and 23rd avenues);

• 3001 Taraval St. (between 40th and 41st avenues);

• 1750 Noriega St. (between 24th and 25th avenues);

• 2550 Ocean Ave. (between Junipero Serra Boulevard and 19th Avenue).

Look for a donation bin near the entrance, and contribute any of the following recommended items: pencils, ballpoint pens, rulers, notebooks, backpacks, pencil sharpeners, erasers, binder paper, glue sticks, calculators, scissors, folders, binders, water-based markers, crayons, colored pencils and USB flash drives.

If you would like to pick up supplies from the drive, visit us at the Ortega Branch Library on Aug. 17. Students must be present to receive items, and teachers from District 4 schools are welcome to stop by for any classroom supplies they may need. Please note that items may be limited per person based on supply.

We would like to thank community members for their donations and Walgreens for its continued partnership to ensure that students at our District 4 schools have all the supplies they need to be successful in the classroom.

For any questions regarding the supply drive, please contact our office at (415) 554-7460 or e-mail Ashley.Summers@sf gov.org.

Launching a New Blueprint
Last May, our office announced our effort to create the first-of-its-kind strategic plan for the Sunset, called the Sunset District Blueprint, with the goal of developing a vision for our community and to identify short- and long-term goals to improve our district.

On July 9, our office was excited to release the blueprint along with about 80 neighbors and city department staff at the Rolling-Out Cafe on Taraval Street.

The Sunset District Blueprint outlines our office's goals and objectives in five issue areas: children, families and seniors; economic development; land use; public transportation and pedestrian safety; and public safety and emergency preparedness.

At the open house event, we showcased our goals and objectives in each issue area, and explained our year-long process to conduct community outreach, work with city departments, develop goals and objectives, and release the document to the public. We also discussed our strategy for implementation and yearly community updates on our progress.

Our office will be using the blueprint as a guide for our work over the next several years. We have already begun work on the objectives outlined in the document. For example, our office has been engaging the community and the SF Planning Department in a series of workshops related to land use issues in response to interest from residents regarding underutilized sites within our district.

Throughout our blueprint outreach process, we also heard from many that there should be more activities and opportunities for teens, particularly employment opportunities.

This summer, our office hosted a first-of-its-kind mobile job fair for Sunset youth, in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF), United Way of the Bay Area, and the Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program (MYEEP).

Ten students were hired for paid internships at small businesses in District 4 this summer, and we look forward to continuing and expanding this program.

We could not have created such a visionary document without the tremendous amount of input and inspiration from Sunset and Parkside district residents, as well as the expertise of city staff. Our office extends our deepest appreciation to our District 4 Leadership Group, as well as all of the residents who provided feedback in shaping our strategic plan.

If you would like to view the Sunset District Blueprint, please visit the website at www.sfbos.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=49717 or contact as us (415) 554-7460 to receive a hard copy while supplies last.

Katy Tang represents District 4 on the SF Board of Supervisors and can be reached at [email protected] or (415) 554-7460.