Supporting OCJ Kids' Tools 4 Success drive to provide opportunity, create community, and empower at-risk youth.
It’s back-to-school season once again, and for many kids that means picking out new notebooks, new backpacks, and getting excited for the year ahead. But for many foster children here in Arizona, the start of a new school year can look very different.
With the support of our community, we can help make back-to-school season less stressful for foster youth and provide them with the supplies, confidence, and encouragement they need to start the school year prepared.
For years, our team and our amazing customers have proudly supported OCJ Kids, an organization doing life-changing work for foster and at-risk youth across Arizona. This summer, Precision Tire and Auto Center – AZ is proud to once again serve as an official community drop-off location for their annual Tools 4 Success back-to-school drive.
The Journey of OCJ Kids
OCJ Kids is a local nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunity, creating community, and fighting for justice for foster and at-risk youth throughout Arizona.
Founded in 2005 by Gary and Tammie Webb, the organization began after a conversation with a foster group home staff member who described foster children as “the faceless generation” and “the forgotten ones.” That conversation sparked a mission to help children in foster care feel seen, supported, and connected to their community.
Today, OCJ Kids works tirelessly to provide resources, mentorship programs, community events, and support for foster youth from the moment they enter the system through their transition into adulthood. Along the way, foster children are given opportunities to build meaningful relationships, lasting support systems, and lifelong connections with both mentors and fellow foster youth.
Turning Empty Backpacks into a Purposeful Future
The Tools 4 Success initiative is designed to help provide backpacks and essential school supplies to foster youth in need across Arizona. We know how stressful and discouraging it can be for any child to start school feeling unprepared, which is why this program focuses on removing that barrier before the school year begins. This allows kids to feel equal, prepared, and supported as they walk into the classroom, giving them the confidence to focus on learning, building friendships, and starting the school year on the same footing as their peers.
Join Us in Supporting OCJ Kids' Tools 4 Success
If you would like to join us in supporting OCJ Kids this summer, we are collecting new back-to-school supplies to help foster youth start the school year prepared and confident.
We are accepting donations such as:
- Sturdy, new backpacks (all age groups, from elementary through high school)
- Notebooks, loose-leaf paper, and binders
- Pencils, pens, highlighters, and colored pencils
- Pocket folders, rulers, and glue sticks
- And other essential classroom supplies
If you want to skip the store, you can sponsor a local foster child for only $20. This will give them a new backpack filled with school supplies, along with admission to the OCJ Back-to-School celebration. The best part: Precision Tire and Auto Center – AZ is matching sponsorship donations!
There are several drop-off locations participating in the drive, and our location is proud to be one of them:
Precision Tire and Auto Center – 21820 N 27th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85027.
Together, we can help ensure foster youth across Arizona start the school year with the tools, confidence, and support they deserve.
To learn more about OCJ Kids and their mission to support foster and at-risk youth, visit https://ocjkids.org/
