Being prepared on the first day of school sets the tone for the whole year
Since 1999 the Samaritan Community Center has provided thousands of free backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to local at-risk children going into grades K-12. We believe that no child should show up on the first day of school empty handed and unprepared for learning. This program is giving NWA children a Fresh Start with the tools they need to succeed at school.
BackPacks for Kids Event 2020
Event is cancelled due to COVID-19
Due to COVID-19, we are having to shift how we handle BackPacks for Kids distribution. Backpacks will be available through your school counselors. Please contact your school for more information.
HOST A SCHOOLS SUPPLY DRIVE OR DONATE
Contact Shannon Green
sgreen@samcc.org
(479) 636-4198
“We have teachers who have shared stories about children who were two to three weeks into the school year before it was known that they didn’t have access to needed supplies,”
says Shannon Green, who spends over six months each year helping local businesses, organizations and churches drive for school supplies to fill our backpacks.
“We believe it is critically important for children to be fully prepared that very first day of school. It helps them have a positive start to their learning experience.”
Annual School Supply Drive
SCC hosts BackPacks for Kids every year and accepts school supply donations year-round for this event
It takes a lot of pencils, pens, notebooks, erasers, etc. to fill 4,000 backpacks! Fresh Start: BackPacks for Kids event has become an exciting community back-to-school event but it would not be possible without support from more than 500 businesses, churches, vendors, and individual community volunteers that come together to collect and inventory school supplies.
If you are a vendor or business that finds you have an excess supply of items that could benefit this program, or your church or business would be interested in hosting a school supply drive, give us a call!