Community Innovation Hub Expands Student Support Through Back-to-School Giveaway
More than 100 Cal Poly Pomona students received free dorm and everyday essentials at a Back-to-School Dorm Supply Giveaway hosted by the Community Innovation Hub in partnership with community partner, Hope Esperanza.
The Aug. 14 event at the Hub in downtown Pomona provided students with backpacks, bedding, hygiene kits, reusable water bottles, food containers and nonperishable food. Students also had opportunities to receive larger household items, including mini refrigerators, microwaves and other appliances.
The giveaway was designed to help students offset some of the costs associated with preparing for the academic year while connecting them with resources and support available through Cal Poly Pomona and the surrounding community.
For Kimberly Gomez, a mechanical engineering sophomore, the event provided access to items she may not have had the means to otherwise purchase.
“This opportunity has been very helpful in helping me get my necessities,” Gomez said. “I always skipped out on getting what I need, and this opportunity just allowed me to get some extras and some necessities that I may have not been able to get. I’m very grateful for it.”
The Community Innovation Hub extends Cal Poly Pomona’s presence into downtown Pomona, creating a space where students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members can connect, learn and collaborate.
Through programming and partnerships, the Hub provides opportunities in areas including career readiness, entrepreneurship, arts and cultural programming, and community engagement. CPP students can also participate in experiential learning opportunities, including paid micro-internships and community-based projects that allow them to apply their skills outside the classroom.
For community members, the Hub provides greater access to Cal Poly Pomona through workshops, educational programming, technology, resources and opportunities to collaborate with university students and employees. Partnerships with local organizations help connect university expertise with community priorities while providing CPP students with opportunities to engage directly with the greater Pomona community.
One family who attended the event demonstrated how supporting a CPP student can have an impact beyond an individual, said Ericka Olguin, director of Innovation Incubator and the Community Innovation Hub.
“I was especially moved when one student arrived with her two younger sisters,” Olguin said. “You could see the admiration and pride on their faces as they watched their older sister prepare for the semester ahead. I couldn’t help but think about the example she was setting for them. It was a beautiful reminder that when we support one student, we’re not only investing in their future, but also inspiring the next generation.”
Hope Esperanza partnered with the Hub to help provide supplies and resources for the event.
“For us, it’s been an honor to partner with Cal Poly Pomona,” said Esther Avalos, founder of Hope Esperanza. “This is what it looks like when community organizers and the Hub get together to serve the community.”
Avalos said the partnership also reflects a broader commitment to ensuring students know they have support beyond the university.
“We want to make sure that the students know that behind their journey to their careers that there’s a community in Pomona that’s there to support their dreams,” she said.
Following the strong turnout for the fall event, the Community Innovation Hub will host a secondary giveaway during the spring semester, with a focus on providing incoming transfer students with similar resources and support as they begin their Cal Poly Pomona journey.
To learn more about the Community Innovation Hub, visit the website or contact the team at thehub@cpp.edu.