A school-ready bag for the day a child moves home.
Black Bag is a fictional nonprofit concept from a two-day social impact design hackathon in New York City. It starts from one problem: on the day a child's home changes, belongings, belonging and getting ready for school all get shaky.
A school bag that is always black, so the color comes from stickers. Some stickers come from sponsors, some are the child's own. The adult handing it over does the paperwork. The child never types anything.
Sticker bag
School supplies
Gift card
Cheer card
Picture letters
Postcard
Checklist
Outing ticketsEach option is pre-built, so a sponsor or donor can fund one without a long list of choices.
Grades 1–2
For younger children new to school. Starts with pictures, color and stickers.
Small bag · chunky crayons and pencils · sticker book
Grades 3–5
The standard set for the middle grades.
Standard bag · pencils, notebook, colored pencils, ruler
Grades 3–8
For children who love to draw and make, in any of grades 3–8.
Standard bag · sketchbook, colored pencils, markers, scissors
Grades 6–8
For older students who want to pack for themselves: less decoration, more use.
Large bag · binder, calculator, highlighters, planner
In New York, children in shelters and children in foster care each go through the day their home changes. They are different groups in different systems, so we show their numbers separately and never add or compare them.
Source: Advocates for Children of New York, 2024–25. The report does not say why students were absent, so neither do we.
Source: NYC Mayor's Management Report, FY2026, Administration for Children's Services. Comfort Cases, a nonprofit that gives foster children bags of their own, writes: “Typically, children are given a trash bag…”
These figures use different units and time periods. Which kit steps fit foster care as well as shelter care is still an open question for this concept.
A sponsor funds a kit and its sticker appears on the bag, side by side with the child's own stickers. Sponsor stickers take less than half of a sticker sheet, and empty slots are always left for the child. The bag itself stays black.
Every sponsor shown in this project (STRIDE, PENCIL POST, BRIGHT MART, SEASIDE RIDE, MOVIE NIGHT) is fictional. No real brand has been asked or has agreed to anything. Gift card amounts and prices are not set.
These are quotes from programs that already exist. We have no figures on brand lift or employee engagement, so we make no such claims.
Corebridge Financial describes its partnership with Kids In Need Foundation as “about much more than donating backpacks and supplies. It is about creating opportunities for students to reach their full potential…”
Kids In Need Foundation invites companies to “Align your brand with a mission your customers and communities care about.”
Project Night Night: “Your team will love assembling our Night Night Packages which help homeless children transition to shelter living.”
Black Bag is a fictional nonprofit, presumed to be a 501(c)(3) for the sake of this concept. The contact details below are placeholders on a reserved example domain, and nothing on this page sends data anywhere.
For adults only. Please never send information about a child, including names, photos or school details.