Overview: On August 1, 2026, 360 Human Services hosted its second annual community-wide backpack drive at the Fontana Senior Center. The event distributed 1,000 free backpacks to Inland Empire children and provided families with essential resources, including mental health workshops, financial literacy training, and healthcare evaluations. Supported by local partners and city leadership, the initiative aimed to empower marginalized communities for the upcoming school year.
Alyssah Hall
This back to school season, 360 Human Services held their second annual community-wide back pack drive, on Aug. 1, 2026, at the Fontana Senior Center.
With a mission to provide 1,000 free backpacks to children in the Inland Empire, the event offered families access to free therapy services, Inland Empire Health Plan on-site evaluations for children under five, parent training sessions, and financial literacy workshops provided by Chase Bank. The drive was endorsed by the mayor of Fontana, Acquanetta Warren and in partnership with the Inland Empire Black Chamber of Commerce.
Focused on supporting marginalized communities, 360 Human Services’ mission is to facilitate positive changes in the lives of children and adults by delivering applied behavioral analysis therapy, specifically for families affected by autism and related developmental disabilities. 360 Human Services has locations in Barstow, Apple Valley and San Bernardino, but held their second annual back pack drive in Fontana to make attendance more accessible and central to all in the IE.
CEO and founder of 360 Human Services, Harry Jackson, was inspired to create the backpack drive by his own experiences as a kid going to back pack giveaways and felt it was important to pay it forward to his community.
“We believe that we can provide your family with resources and give all these different vendors the opportunity to talk about the good work they’re doing. So every person that went through here, every family, had a chance to talk to every single vendor,” Jackson said.
“We did mental health workshops, we partnered with True Escape [Marriage and] Family Therapy up in the high desert and we partnered with Chase Bank to do financial workshops…Because we’re looking at the full spectrum of a family,” Jackson continued.
Many families shuffled in and out of the Fontana Senior Center where they had a chance to engage with multiple service booths, including the nonprofit Options for All and UDID Academy (Unique Differences In Development) , an adaptive sports and therapy organization.
In the center’s courtyard, there was a dj playing upbeat music while families gathered under the hot sun to participate in activities like the giant Connect Four and corn hole stations. In the corner under a shady tent, sat a mountain of stacked backpacks in a variety of colors. Handing out backpacks were Mary Arthur and Brittany Cruz who shared that it felt good to support the community and offer resources, school supplies and fun activities. “It’s nice to see the kids pick the backpack colors they like,” Arthur added.
“The biggest thing is making sure that the families have the resources that they need to get ready for school. But at the same time to make sure that we, as a community, come together, get to know one another [and] strengthen relationships, so it’s a win-win all the way around,” said Donovan Hilton, community outreach manager for 360 Human Services.
Hilton explained that he hoped families left the event knowing they have support as well as organizations that “actually” want to reach out and connect with them. “There was a lot of smiles, a lot of resources, paperwork in their hands. So I think we accomplished that today,” Hilton shared.