Ashley Fowler
Staff Writer
With summer winding down, many kids are preparing to go back to school. For some families, stuffing brand-new backpacks full of clean notebooks, fresh packs of crayons and sharpened pencils is a staple of the season.
But for families who can’t afford the additional expense, Operation Backpack comes in.
The Salvation Army started the program that donates backpacks full of school supplies to low-income families in 2012 after receiving numerous requests for school-supply donations.
“A number of our clients coming in for our food service indicated that their children needed help getting these kind of school supplies, and so we felt that we would go ahead and put together Operation Backpack,” said Rudy Hedgren, director of operations for The Salvation Army Long Beach Citadel.
This year, on Monday, Aug. 18, The Salvation Army plans to give more than 125 children full backpacks for the new school year. The Salvation Army is asking for financial donations, as each filled backpack costs them about $75 each, Hedgren said.
“Because we specialize in exactly what we are going to be putting in the bag, we worked with the various schools and found out the most important things that the kids need,” Hedgren said. “We’ve pretty much ordered those items, and we will be assembling the backpacks in the next week and a half.”
Families in need may call Hedgren at (562) 426-7637 ext. 230 and make an appointment to pick up a new backpack.
