The United Way of Bruce Grey is helping ensure students are prepared to head back to school this September through its annual Backpack Program.
Fundraising Champion Kristy Andre says this summer’s campaign has received a lot of support from the community.
“So 2,513 backpacks have been spoken for. Signing up for the backpack program still happens until the first week of school,” says Andre. “We originally put out there that our estimated goal, or our estimated amount for this year was 2,500. We did do 2,470 last year, so we are anticipating around there.”
She says the program is entirely funded through community donations and a recent Stuff the Bus event at the Staples at Owen Sound was deemed a major success despite also experiencing heavy rain.
Andre adds United Way of Bruce Grey Executive Director Francesca Dobbyn had said the organization received more in-kind donations as well as monetary donations, including backpacks and supplies, this year compared to previous years.
“The community response has been phenomenal, we are always so grateful for anything that comes in. Of course, we could use more, this program does cost $90,000 to operate, we are at about half of that fundraised right now,” says Andre.
She says they are also seeing requests for backpacks from people who have never registered before as well as continuing to see people who have been in need for years.
She says that the rising costs for families combined with rising costs for school supplies are leading to even more people in Grey Bruce needing to rely on programs such as the Backpack Program.
“We are happy to be there for people, we are happy for people to learn about our program and what is involved in it and answer any questions someone might have about it as well,” says Andre.
She says while school supply donations are welcome, monetary donations would also help the program operate.
The United Way is planning another Stuff the Bus event this weekend at Grant’s Independent Grocer in Hanover from Friday to Sunday.
Andre says that if donations are given through the United Way’s website or in cash, then the organization also has more purchasing power. Suppliers help them to get products where their dollar can stretch further.
Anyone interested in supporting the program can find more details on the United Way website here.