Successteam provides no-cost school supplies to CSRA students for the ninth year

On July 13, over 1,000 guests were expected to arrive at Aiken Technical College for Successteam’s ninth annual Back 2 School Bookbag Drive.

Successteam, a nonprofit organization specializing in educational youth development, provides backpacks and school supplies for students at no cost each year.

Tim Behling, the founder and executive director of Successteam said that the organization’s goal is to “ensure that students have the access to resources and opportunities that they need.”

Behling shared insight into his personal background, calling himself “first-generation everything.” Raised in the CSRA in a single-parent household, Behling is passionate about giving students a head start in life. “If we care about our future, we’ve got to care about our youth,” he said.

Behling talked about the bookbag drive’s humble beginnings in 2015 when Successteam was first founded. He said that the first drive was held on the sidewalk of the Aiken County Career and Technology Center, where they had 100 bookbags to give away.

This year, Behling said they had around 1,500 to 2,000 bookbags on hand.

Each year, the community event keeps kids from worrying about school supplies so that they can focus on learning.

“Essentially, we want them to go into the classroom confident, we want to make sure they have the resources they need,” said Behling.

Aiken Tech’s gym was filled with enthusiastic parents and children waiting to receive supplies.

One parent, Laura Vega, was walking through the backpack line with her dog, Dior, when she stopped to talk about the significance of this event for her. “I’m going through an extremely hard time right now, and if it weren't for them, I wouldn’t have been able to get anything for my kids for school,” she said.

This was Vega’s first time attending the event. “It’s awesome,” she added. “It’s definitely awesome, the people are awesome, it’s been a very good experience.”

Another parent, Felicia Paige, said this was the fourth year she’d come to the drive. “It’s very organized, they’re very friendly, they’re very nice, they’re very welcoming, everybody, all the volunteers,” she said.

She said the event builds excitement for students going back to school. “It actually does break the ice for the next school year,” she said. “A lot of kids do get to see friends that they haven’t seen all summer.”

Kelly Dominguez, a student entering the sixth grade this year, said that what she enjoys about the drive is that “we get to walk around and then just get stuff.” She said that she looks forward to “getting good grades” this school year.

Two other students, Malaysia and Nyla Russell, attended the event. They are entering the sixth and ninth grades, respectively. “We came here to get some school supplies for the school year,” said Malaysia.

Malaysia said that her favorite part about the bookbag drive is “the music,” while Nyla said that her favorite part is “the people.”

Successteam Youth Council Member Semaya Bush said Saturday was her first time attending the bookbag drive, and that she was excited to show support for the organization.

“It’s a real pillar for the youth to help them become leaders, especially young youth of color,” Bush said about Successteam. “Especially for our demographic, it’s so hard for us to be empowered to be leaders, so this organization really takes that big step to do that for us in such a large way.”

Backpacks for the drive are supplied annually by donations and fundraising conducted year round.

Behling emphasized the need for volunteers and donations to keep Successteam — and the bookbag drive — alive. “We’re turning 10 next year, 2025, but we’ve got goals to turn 100, so we’ve got to keep it going,” he said.

Community members can donate and find Successteam volunteer opportunities by visiting the organization by visiting their website at successteam.org.