What goes into a backpack? A look inside JFS’s 12th Annual Back-to-School Drive
What goes into a backpack? College-ruled spiral notebooks and crisp composition books. Plenty of #2 pencils. Colorful folders, markers, glue sticks, and more.
But for the 178 students who received supplies through our 12th Annual Back-to-School Drive, there was something else packed inside: the support of an entire community.
For families balancing the cost of groceries, housing, bills, and other everyday necessities, back-to-school shopping can add another financial strain. A backpack filled with the right supplies means one less expense for a family and helps a student walk into the classroom prepared to participate, learn, and feel like they belong.
That’s why, each year, JFS brings together donors, sponsors, community partners, and volunteers to make sure local students have the supplies they need for the school year ahead. And this summer was another amazing success.
Behind every one of those numbers were people and organizations who made this drive possible.
So, what did it take to fill 178 backpacks?
Generosity Went Into Every Backpack
Throughout the month of July, 48 donors contributed $9,292 to the Back-to-School Drive. Their generosity allowed us to buy in bulk, stretch each dollar, and make sure our clients received the supplies they needed. Every gift became something tangible: a notebook, a pack of markers, a set of pocket folders, or one more backpack ready for a student.
We are especially grateful to S&S Worldwide for their generous support of this year’s drive. Their sponsorship provided 912 items valued at over $1,600, allowing us to fill each backpack to the brim. S&S has supported the JFS Back-to-School Drive since 2015, helping hundreds of students enter the school year with the supplies they need to succeed.
Partnership Went Into Every Backpack
Our longtime partners at the Mandell JCC and PJ Library, along with new partners at Brookdale Chatfield, rallied their communities around the drive. This year, their collective efforts resulted in more than 687 supplies collected, including 24 pocket folders, 150 glue sticks, 210 pencils, and hundreds of other much-needed items.
We are grateful to our partners and every family who participated for continuing to make the Back-to-School Drive a true community effort.
Time and Care Went Into Every Backpack
Once the supplies arrived, 64 volunteers helped prepare everything for distribution.
Our first group opened boxes and sorted supplies to get everything ready for packing. Next, a spirited group of 52 campers from Camp Shalom packed backpacks, decorated paper delivery bags for clients, and even painted pallets to make Jessie’s Garden more vibrant. Finally, our last group double-checked each backpack to make sure it contained the correct supplies before moving it to the staging area for distribution.
Together, these volunteers handled 6,027 supplies across three days, helping prepare 178 students for the school year ahead.
So, what goes into a backpack?
Notebooks and pencils, certainly. But also generosity. Partnership. Volunteer time. And a community that cares about its neighbors.
Thanks to this community, nearly 200 local students are carrying all of that with them into the new school year. From all of us at JFS, thank you to every donor, sponsor, partner, and volunteer who made our 12th Annual Back-to-School Drive possible.
