In an effort to provide support for underprivileged children in the Denver-area, DaVita teamed up with A Precious Child (APC) June 22 for a Fill A Backpack event at the company’s Denver headquarters. The event marked the fifth consecutive year DaVita has collaborated with APC.

The event was part of APC’s annual Fill A Backpack Corporate Challenge, which engages organizations in a competition to collect school supplies, raise funds, and raise awareness for the Fill A Backpack program and APC’s mission. The non-profit organization’s mission is to provide children in need with opportunities and resources to empower them to reach their full potential.

55 volunteers from DaVita worked together to ensure children facing difficult life challenges such as abuse, neglect or poverty have the opportunity to start their first day of school feeling confident and prepared to succeed academically.

DaVita and APC first joined together in 2018 as part of DaVita’s commitment to caring for the communities in which it operates. This year’s event achieved its goal of filling 1,000 backpacks—250 backpacks for each grade level (K-2, 3-5, middle school, high school)—with school supplies consisting of pencils, notebooks, crayons, folders and much more.

“DaVita’s investment of time and resources in A Precious Child each year makes a measurable impact helping us empower more kids in need in our local community,” APC CEO, Carina Martin said. “They put purpose at the heart of their business.”

In 2021, APC was able to successfully provide backpacks and school supplies for more than 20,000 children across eight Denver metro counties. Mary Van Jacobs, administrator with DaVita’s Village Giving team, worked directly with APC, and has a unique memory from her first experience with the organization, recalling a luncheon a few years ago at which an older attendee shared his personal experience as a child receiving a similar gift and the lasting impact it had on him.

“He spoke about his own experience as a kid growing up in poverty, and how getting a backpack for Christmas with school supplies was so exciting for him,” Van Jacobs said. “To hear him recall that experience was significant and had an impact on me.”

The simple act of providing children with a backpack full of school supplies makes a difference. The Fill A Backpack program reports 92% of recipients are more excited to go back to school, and 95% of caregivers report their children feel more confident in their ability to succeed in school.

80% of caregivers also report their children have better relationships with their peers.

Megan Weis, group general counsel senior director at DaVita, and a member of APC’s board of directors, first learned about APC five years ago during a local event in Broomfield.

Having children of her own, she knew from the start she wanted to be part of an organization focused on giving back to the community and creating opportunities for those most in need. Weis recognizes the many difficulties and challenges so many families in our community face, and is proud of DaVita’s commitment to give back.

“Being able to see the excitement on the children’s faces when we distributed their backpacks to them really hit home,” Weis said. “It’s organizations like APC and programs like Fill A Backpack that for me represent the impact we can have on our communities.”