FAMILY GIVING TREE

The Family Giving Tree began in 1990 as a San Jose State University MBA class project. Jennifer Cullenbine and Todd Yoshida were asked to "create a program that adds value to someone else's life." They created the Family Giving Tree with the hope of providing holiday gifts to 300 children in East Palo Alto. Encouraged by the success of the first year, Jennifer decided to continue and expand the organization. In 1995, the Back-to-School Drive was launched and provides grade-appropriate school supply-filled backpacks to students whose families are facing financial challenges. In the 31st year of the program's existence, the total number of gifts and backpacks donated had grown to over 2,000,000, making the Family Giving Tree the largest gift and backpack donation program in California.