​INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – APRIL 04: Silas Demary Jr. #2 of the UConn Huskies brings the ball up the court against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Over the past week, children from around Connecticut returned to school for another academic year. And thanks to the help of UConn men’s basketball star Silas Demary Jr., 500 children in the Hartford area stepped back into the classroom sporting new backpacks. Through his Silas Demary Jr. Foundation, the senior partnered with the Connecticut Foodshare organization in Wallingford for his “Back to School Bash” event, distributing the donated backpacks to local students. “Hey, you guys at the Connecticut Foodshare, I wanted to thank you guys for the support of myself, my SDJ5 Foundation and my Back to School Bash,” Demary said in a video posted to social media. “You allowed Hartford students to go back to school the right way and well prepared. Hopefully, we can partner again next year.”We’re excited to share this message from our friend and UConn basketball player @silas_demaryjr 🏀The @sdj5foundation Back to School Bash was a success! Connecticut Foodshare was proud to support the event as 500 backpacks were distributed to Hartford students#UConnBasketballpic.twitter.com/dPzkHBg01n- Connecticut Foodshare (@CTFoodshare) September 14, 2026Demary hosted his Back to School Bash at The Mark Twain House in Hartford Aug. 28, an event that also included school supplies, free haircuts and other services to help Connecticut families prepare for the school year. The foundation accepted donated supplies for the bash and continues to accept donations via PayPal and Venmo Venmo/PayPal @sdj5foundation. The first annual Back to School Bash in Hartford brings the Demary family’s legacy of charitable focus, as the first-team All-Big East player hosted a similar back-to-school drive in his home state of North Carolina last year. Demary’s mother, Shante, and his father, Silas Sr., both helped organize the event and raved about the involvement of the UConn fanbase. “The thing that warms me the most, we came right in and felt a part of it immediately,” Shante told CTInsider in July. “This UConn family, when they say the bleed blue… they bleed blue! To do this for the community that he just entered, we’re super-excited about spreading love to a community that has given us so much joy in our life.”Demary enjoyed a standout debut season in Storrs in 2025-26 after two years with Georgia, averaging 10 points and nearly six assists per game while emerging as UConn’s best perimeter defender. Alongside Braylon Mullins, Demary is one of two UConn starters returning for this upcoming season, hoping to punch another ticket to the Final Four. Sign up for the Connecticut Briefing from CT Insider. Get the biggest headlines of the day from our network of journalists around the state.This article orig