Inflation has resulted in rising costs for everything including school supplies which has the Salvation Army in Regina asking for help from the community for one of the organization’s back-to-school programs.
The Salvation Army Haven of Hope says higher prices for school supplies in 2022 have impacted their backpack program which aims to provide children with necessities for school. They’ve gone from asking for $25 donations in previous years to now seeking $40 donations.
“Every year we recognize that there are families that just struggle to make ends meet and sending kids back to school is an extra expense between supplies, backpacks and all of the other things that come up. So we just seek to help out with that and make that a little bit easier for those families that that struggle,” Captain Kristen Gray said.
Part of the backpack program involves checking with schools and finding out what teachers and children want. They then make a list of supplies depending on what the teachers expect students to have in classrooms.
Gray said the program is well received by kids and their parents and is a crucial part of back-to-school. She said the kids look forward to returning to classes knowing that they’re prepared. For parents, she said, it takes some of the load off, with them not having to worry about covering the cost of supplies for their kids.
The organization’s partnership with Staples helps them fill up the backpacks at a discount, even so, the jump in cost from $25 per filled backpack last year has pushed them to reach out to the public.
“This year, with the cost of inflation … our supplies are going to bring us to about $40 per child,” she said. “That’s a huge jump when we’re talking about 1,000 backpacks, which is what we’ll be preparing this year. That’s an extra $15,000 in our budget. So we’re just looking to get some support from the community to help us do that.”
The easiest way to donate is by going to their website to make a contribution of any size.
“Even if someone can’t provide $40, even $20 or $10 goes a long way to help us to make sure those that every child goes to school ready.”
People who want to donate can also call their office at 306-757-4600.
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