The Sharing Shelf announces kick-off of 2022 ‘Backpacks to School’ initiative

Each summer, The Sharing Shelf organizes its “Backpacks to School” initiative to buy new backpacks and fill them with grade appropriate school supplies for low-income children in Westchester. Between May and August, the program works with individuals and businesses county-wide to raise the funds needed to purchase everything needed for this initiative.

In six weeks, students will return to their classrooms, gearing up for a new school year. For many families with children living below the poverty line or in low-income homes, the return to school is a period of stress as they try to secure the tools their children need for academic success, including backpacks, pencils and pens to write with, calculators for geometry and science classes, notebooks, binders, paper, markers, colored pencils and crayons.

Even before the pandemic, Westchester was a community with a mix of great wealth and nearly 60,000 low-income children. In some of our communities, 8 in 10 public school students are living below the poverty line or in low-income homes. This summer, the challenges of inflation and supply chain disruptions will further burden these families. Recent reports indicate that families plan to spend more than $500 on their children’s supplies this summer, an increase of 11% to 25% from 2021. It is a sum out of reach for families struggling financially.

The Sharing Shelf plans to provide backpacks to at least 1,500 children and teens and seeks to raise $50,000 for this project. To reach this goal, the organization ordered supplies early and seeks financial support to cover the cost and ensure the success of this vital initiative.

Volunteers will help assemble the backpacks at The Sharing Shelf’s Port Chester warehouse during the month of August. The backpacks and supplies are critical to the academic success of poor and low-income children and will allow them to return to school prepared, confident, and ready to learn.

To donate, visit https://www.sharingshelf.org/backpacks-to-school. To find out more about how, contact The Sharing Shelf Program Director Deborah Blatt at [email protected] or (914) 305-5950. You may also visit www.sharingshelf.org and click on Backpacks to School.