With the cost of living in North Texas varying seemingly by the day, many families are left scrambling to cover the cost of basic necessities. School supplies are one of those looming purchases as the start of the academic year is just around the corner. Thankfully for low-income families in the area, Pathway Packs is working to close that gap.
The nonprofit organization was founded in 2024 by Darshan Sivalogan and Amalan Sivalogan, twin brothers from Allen. Alongside Cole Dolton, a mutual friend, the group created a way to provide necessary items for schools that don’t receive money through Title I. According to the Pathway Packs website, “Many schools don’t receive Title I funding due to strict eligibility thresholds, leaving countless children without access to basic supplies.”
For those unfamiliar, Title I Part A is a program that distributes supplemental funding to local and state educational agencies to help those institutions acquire the resources needed to properly educate their respective student bodies. Additional information on how it works and who is eligible for funding can be found here.
The Sivalogans and Dolton wanted to ensure that every student had the tools required to tackle whatever the school year had in store by providing backpacks filled with necessary learning materials like pencils and paper. The team also leaves kind notes in each backpack.
One note reads, “Inside you’ll find supplies to help you learn because the world needs your light.” It’s a small way of brightening up a young person’s day and reminding them their educational pursuits are worth putting effort into.
Pathway Packs cares about giving kids the tools they need to succeed
Darshan and Amalan Sivalogan told NBC DFW that founding Pathway Packs was, essentially, a no-brainer. “We all believe every student deserves an equal chance and equal start,” Amalan said. He and Darshan, along with Cole Dolton, came up with the idea after thinking back fondly on their elementary school years.
Darshan said, “It was like a fresh start for that year for us, and we wanted to attack that year with our best and give it our best and that’s why we thought of this idea.” Their hope is that every student who receives a backpack feels that same sense of internal encouragement. Darshan thinks that’s the most important part of what they’re doing.
“Just giving them a sense of you matter — your confidence matters — you’re going to do good in your life,” is what makes the effort worth it, he told NBC DFW. Amalan added, “We’re hoping this is their first step, they can go chase their dreams, really do anything.”
This fall, the Sivalogan twins are headed to the University of Texas at Austin, but their work with Pathway Packs will continue through the help of organized high school volunteers. “We make sure to tell them that there are students just like us that are doing stuff like this, and we want to serve as an inspiration to them to do things like that in the future,” Darshan said.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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