A local community impacted by violence is stepping up to help students feel more secure following a school shooting in Oakland.
The Chinatown Improvement Council is donating hundreds of backpacks to students at the King Estates Campus. The backpacks, which helped school staff members identify each other on the shared campus during evacuations, will now be part of students' everyday uniform.
"It is really helpful for us to be able to identify which students are supposed to be where," Bay Area Technical School Principal Cesley Frost said.
Students are excited to sport the new look that will be used both on campus and at off-site events in an effort to increase a sense of community.
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"You're not being judged for what you have," student Roberto Juarez said. "Everyone has the same thing. They are being given the same thing."
The Chinatown Improvement Council raised $20,000 for the backpacks and to bring two communities together.
"We are talking about another community 10 miles away, not in the Chinatown vicinity," said Stewart Chen with the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council. "We can relate to their pain and to their fears, and we have to do something."
Supporters hope the backpacks will leave a big impact on students showing the community has their back in more ways than one.
"It's very sincere that they are donating these backpacks and lets the students know that safety is a priority for the community," Frost said.
