SINT MAARTEN — RISE Foundation has completed the core phase of its 2026 Back-to-School Support Project, providing uniforms, backpacks, school supplies and shoe assistance to students across four partner primary schools while extending additional student and classroom support to other schools and organizations.
This year, the Foundation set out to mobilize support toward 100 uniform vouchers, 100 backpacks and shoe assistance for 100 students through its annual Back-to-School Donation Drive.
Working alongside Marie Genevieve De Weever Primary School, Leonald Conner Primary School, Oranje School and Ruby Denise Labega Primary School, RISE Foundation provided 100 uniform vouchers valued at $150 each, with 25 allocated to each of the four partner schools. The project also provided 76 backpacks through its core school allocation and shoe support for 62 students. Beyond the four-school allocation, an additional 11 students received uniform assistance, further extending the project’s direct support.
Before launching its second annual Back-to-School campaign, RISE Foundation surveyed educators on the areas where students needed the most support. Uniforms, backpacks and school supplies, and shoes emerged as the top three priorities.
Based on this feedback, RISE expanded the 2026 project to include shoe assistance, reflecting its approach of listening to educators and adapting the campaign to respond to practical needs identified by schools. The support helped families with the purchase of quality black school shoes, removing one more back-to-school expense.
The reach of the 2026 Back-to-School Support Project extended beyond the four schools included in RISE Foundation’s core allocation. Through additional donations and in-kind contributions, RISE was able to provide more than 60 backpacks, 200 drawstring bags, more than 200 pencil cases filled with school supplies, more than 200 reusable water bottles and other school essentials to students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Primary School, Prins Willem Alexander School, A.C.E. Foundation and 721 Kids Foundation.
Together, more than 300 additional students benefited from this broader layer of back-to-school support, allowing the project to reach considerably further than its original four-school focus.
RISE Foundation worked alongside participating schools to identify where support was most needed. The students receiving uniform, backpack and shoe assistance were not always the same individuals. Some benefited from support in more than one area, while others received only the specific assistance identified as most useful to them.
As a result, the project’s direct student reach extended beyond the original 100-student allocation. Participating schools, which have direct knowledge of their students and families, helped guide how available resources could be distributed where they would have the greatest practical impact.
Throughout the distribution process, RISE saw the excitement of students receiving their backpacks and school items, as well as the relief of parents knowing that some of their back-to-school needs had been met.
School staff also shared how access to appropriate uniforms, school shoes and supplies made a visible difference in students’ confidence, preparedness and sense of belonging. For RISE Foundation, that is the impact behind the numbers.
RISE Foundation’s Back-to-School Support Project has continued to grow since its launch in 2025. In its first year, RISE set out to support 50 students and ultimately reached 60. For 2026, the Foundation doubled its original target to 100 students, with the project ultimately extending direct support beyond that initial goal.
RISE Foundation also distributed nine boxes of teacher and classroom supplies. Each of the four core partner schools received two boxes, with an additional box provided to the 721 Kids Foundation.
The resources complemented the project’s student-focused support by placing practical materials directly into classrooms for the new school year.
The Back-to-School Support Project was made possible through a combination of financial contributions, donated school supplies and other in-kind support, public collection drives, volunteers and collaboration with participating schools.
“On behalf of the RISE team, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to every individual, business and organization that donated, contributed in kind, volunteered, shared the campaign or helped spread the word,” said RISE Foundation President Chiaira Bowers. “The only way we were able to reach our goal, and exceed it in a few areas, was because the community came through.”
“For us, what that support means is that more children can walk into school feeling prepared, happy to be there and like they belong, while families can begin the school year with a little more relief. The best way I can describe the support we received is that it felt like a big hug from the community to families who needed that extra support. We are incredibly grateful, and I believe the families and children who benefited share that same gratitude.”
To learn more about RISE Foundation, support its projects or explore ways to get involved, contact RISE Foundation by phone or WhatsApp at +1 (721) 584-7473 or +1 (721) 523-8421, or message us on Facebook at risesxm and Instagram at @rise.sxm.
Together We Rise.
