According to Deloitte’s 2022 back-to-school survey, parents plan to spend an average of $661 per child on back-to-school shopping so their student is prepared for a year of educational success. In fact, according to Deloitte, back-to-school shopping is the second largest annual expense for families after the holidays.
There is no question that having the required supplies is important for a student – being prepared to take on another year of school with the right tools in hand can be a game changer. However, when a family is living paycheck to paycheck, children learn to make do with what they have – even if that means returning to school without the supplies needed to succeed.
That’s where Operation Backpack® comes in. Through the support of the community, Operation Backpack® equips students of all ages with a new backpack filled with grade-specific school supplies.
When same-day delivery company Shipt learned about the difficulties facing many families as the new school year approaches, they decided to do something about it and teamed up with VOA affiliates throughout the East Coast to donate a total of 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies.
VOADV staff recently spent the Philadelphia stop on Shipt’s back-to-school tour helping stuff backpacks and enjoying their school bus full of photo ops, back-to-school facts and helpful information. At the end of two fun-filled days, we received 250 K-2nd grade and 250 3rd grade – 5th grade stuffed backpacks.
Thanks to the generosity of Shipt and everyone who came out to the #ShiptBusTour to help stuff backpacks, 500 local students will be starting the school year prepared with the tools to help them succeed.