The kids in our community need you! Cleveland Public Library is joining Operation Backpack to help every child start their school year ready to chase their dreams and take on the world!
Chasing that dream begins when a child has the confidence that they have the tools to start the school year. Help create that confidence with a new backpack filled with school supplies. This is how Operation Backpack help gives equal opportunity to all children.
Did you know families in need can’t afford a backpack and school supplies for their children? It’s last on the list when they are balancing all of their basic needs expenses, like utilities, mortgages, rent, and so on. On average, school supplies and fees costs from $696 to $1,300 per child. (Source: National Retail Federation).
When you give a backpack and school supplies, you are helping children AND their parents who are working hard to make ends meet. You’re giving hope to the entire family!
You can help kids become whatever they imagine and dream.
Imagine the possibilities! You’re a dream maker. You are hope.
Northern Ohio Operation Backpack® concludes August 10, 2020.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every new backpack filled with supplies helps at-risk kids succeed in school. Because of you, they will be able to focus on their studies, confident and ready to learn.
- Purchase a new backpack and school supplies using the list below -OR- shop online through the Operation Backpack Amazon wish list and have the supplies delivered directly to VOA.
- Checkmark the below supplies that are in the bag. Please leave missing items blank.
- Fill out your contact information and place this form inside your backpack. Deliver the backpack to a drop location near you.
- Find a location at OperationBackpackGO.org
- Share your photos using #OperationBackpackand make sure to tag@voaohinon social media
MAKING AN IMPACT
The top ten most needed school supplies recommended by teachers (source: USA Today)
- Pencils
- Pencil pouch
- Blue or black ball point pens
- Highlighters
- Markers
- Erasers
- Three ring binder
- Spiral notebooks
- Folders (with pouches)
- Backpacks
Operation Backpack Facts & Figures
- Last year, Volunteers of America Operation Backpack® helped more than 5,000 children enter the classroom with new backpacks and school supplies.
- Each year, local teachers spend on average $479 buying supplies for their classrooms.
- Ninety four percent of public school teachers pay for school supplies,without being reimbursed, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
- In the last 14 years, thousands of kids received more than 1,000,000 pencils through Operation Backpack®.
- One in five school children in the U.S. live below the federally defined poverty line. In many school districts, teachers do not hand out supply lists because they know parents cannot afford it.