We got 5,695 backpacks for our kids this year!

School doors will be opening soon, and we got all of our backpacks out the door in time for the first day!

Our More Than a Backpack program delivered 5,695 backpacks this year to children in foster care in three states!

Of course, we couldn’t have done it without the army of supporters we have. CB&S Bank, Suburban Propane, Torch Technologies, Colsa Corporation, Phased n Research, Mix 96.9, and Rosenblum Realty all partnered with us in this effort.

And then there were the donation drives! We got carload after carload of supplies from local businesses, families, and even had one little boy who collected supplies in lieu of presents for his sixth birthday (way to go, River)!

Plus, people bought thousands of dollars worth of supplies in our Click, Ship, & Give store on Amazon. In all, we had more than $35,000 in supplies donated!

We can’t forget the dozens upon dozens of volunteers who came in to help pack school supplies into backpacks as well. There are just too many to name, but know that we couldn’t have gotten all of those backpacks stuffed and ready to go without your help.

Thanks to your efforts, thousands of children in foster care will be ready to learn when school starts, instead of worrying about the supplies they may not have had otherwise. They have a brand new backpack to call their own, that they can use to carry their belongings if needed. It may seem like a little thing to most of us, but to them, it’s a confidence booster and one less thing in their lives to worry about.

So thank you again, to everyone who helped us with More Than a Backpack in some way or another. You made a difference.

Now, on to the next!