8th Annual Back to School Project

Back to School 2019 – Supporting Local Students at the Start of the New School Year

The KAUST community came together in August and September to support the 8^th annual Back to School Campaign.  This year the program expanded to provide 1300 students with essential supplies for the start of the school year – Grade 1 students received school backpacks, with stationery items, to ensure they were well-prepared for the start of their school year and all students from Grade 7 to 12 received sports uniform, enabling them to participate fully in the sporting opportunities available at school.

The Back to School Campaign has grown year on year since its inauguration in 2012, evolving through close discussion with the schools in our neighboring communities to ascertain the needs of their pupils.  The KAUST community remains as supportive as ever, with backpacks and supplies donated through the displays and collection baskets at Tamimi.  In addition, volunteers assisted at the Backpack Assembly afternoon in the Community Hub, went out to the schools in Thuwal to deliver the backpacks to the students and student volunteers from The KAUST School assisted with the Sports Kit project.

The 2018 campaign trialed the Sports Kit project, providing appropriate sports uniform to students in Grade 7 and Grade 10 and inviting students to have sports taster days using KAUST facilities.  The success of the pilot encouraged the development of the project to provide sports uniforms to all secondary school students from Grade 7 to 12 for Back to School 2019.   An added bonus was the uniforms were produced by skilled, local workers, at the newly-opened Thuwal Embroidery Center, a joint venture between KAUST and Nesma.

The Sports Kit project is more than just provision of uniform.  This year students from Thuwal were again invited to KAUST to participate in various sporting activities, including squash, badminton, table tennis, spin and football, with events at both the Harbor Recreation Center and the Racquet Club.  The visiting students were joined by volunteer pupils and teachers from The KAUST School, with many of the pupils on both sides reuniting from previous inter-community events. 

Each year this project is an excellent example of collaboration, with many elements of the KAUST community involved – the TKS student volunteers managing the Back to School Information Point at Tamimi; the Tamimi staff providing the display space and ensuring sufficient supplies; Community Life and Campus Support involvement in the Assembly preparation logistics;  the SMSA delivery teams; the teachers and pupils at TKS that volunteer at the sports activities and the staff at Harbor Recreation and the Racquet Club who ensure the visiting students are able to maximize their sports experience.   Thank you to all involved – your teamwork and dedication are testament to the volunteering ethos embedded in the KAUST community.

  

Part of the Young Learners' Development Program - read the Program Overview here

Through its Social Responsibility department, Saudi Initiatives is dedicated to advancing the University’s mission to be a good neighbor and responsible citizen, ensuring that the University’s intellectual and social capital is used to sustainably improve the quality of life for individuals and communities in the University’s neighboring communities. 

September 20, 2019