United Way’s Tools for School campaign has been providing backpacks full of supplies to kids for more than 30 years and this year the need is greater than ever.
There’s always been a ton of demand for the program and that need has only been growing, according to United Way president and CEO Rob Yager.
“What we’ve seen over the past couple years are the numbers growing substantially, quite frankly,” he said. “Last year alone we had about 25 per cent increase in the demand for packs of school supplies to help children, so we see that number increasing even more so this year.”
United Way anticipates as many as 23,000 backpacks being required for students in the system — 2,000 more than last year.
“Our city’s growing and so there are a lot of people that are not only new to this region, but in some cases, new to our country,” Yager said, adding the community has been generous, but demand is outpacing the support.
“I think everybody — whether you’re an organization, an individual or a family — are feeling the increasing pressures of costs going up, and of course that’s impacting families that are on the margins the most.”
People can donate school supplies at local Staples locations. There are donation bins set up until Sept. 22.
Visit the United Way’s website to help the initiative and see what’s needed.