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 Northwest Arkansas children a Fresh Start with the tools they need to succeed at school.
We need your help collecting school supplies! Here are a few ways to support BackPacks for Kids:
BackPacks for Kids Event 2022
BackPacks Day is Sat., July 30th from 11am-2pm
BackPack tickets will be available starting Thursday, June 2nd. Tickets will be distributed in the Samaritan Market waiting area during regular program hours. You must have a ticket to receive a backpack on the day of the event. Event host is Arvest Ballpark.
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!
BackPacks for Kids 2022
Presenting Sponsor:
