With the need so great for children and their families in the community, the Windsor-Essex Neighbourhood Ambassadors along with United Way are asking for more support for the "Backpacks for Success" campaign.
The initial campaign ran through August 9, looking to provide essential school supplies to 2,000 children in Windsor-Essex County to ensure they have the resources they need for a successful school year.
Officials say they hit that goal, but it's not enough and now they're calling on members of the community for help.
The back-to-school season is an exciting time for many children who are looking forward to the year ahead but unfortunately there are some youth who don't have access to the supplies and resources needed due to the increasing costs.
The "Backpacks for Success" campaign looks to collect new essential items like lined paper, pens, pencils, coloured pencils, erasers, pencil cases, binders, backpacks, and scientific calculators.
Organizers say that donors can easily support one backpack filled with school supplies for just $30, and all donations will stay local.
Liam Giles-Hayes. Vice President, Programs & Strategic Relations at United Way, says they always partner with a number of different organizations to try and help kids.
"Really in hopes of celebrating the back to school season to make sure that kids in Windsor-Essex were prepared for their first day with obviously receiving a backpack. But also getting connected to really great services like the health unit, the libraries, as well as many other social service agencies to ensure they have everything they need for that first day of school," he said.
Christen Abraham, Windsor-Essex Neighbourhood Ambassador Coordinator, says every child deserves the chance to start the school year with confidence and the necessary tools for success.
"Once we heard about the "Backpacks for Success" program at United Way we wanted to help out with visibility. So we were handing out flyers in the neighbouring areas, and we also want to support them to hand out the backpacks but also in gaining donations," she said.
Giles-Hayes says they know that the unaffordability crisis is really impacting a lot more families in the community this year.
"We still have one of the highest rates of unemployment in Canada, and so obviously basic needs such as a backpack for your child is really unaffordable for a lot of families and putting financial stress on them. The need is so overwhelming, unfortunately we just can't keep up, and definitely a lot more people could really benefit from receiving back to school supplies."
Anyone looking for more information on how to donate or participate in the "Backpacks for Success" campaign can contact United Way on their website.
