The program assembles and donates 11,000 backpacks full of school supplies to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School Districts. Starting a child's school year off with the proper school supplies, which might otherwise pose financial obstacles to a family, improves the child's academic performance for the year. Knowing that we would be giving back to children in our local community was an even bigger motivator.
The team arrived on a Thursday morning and got to work packing bookbags and making sure each contained the proper grade-specific materials. Supplies were laid out on tables in three long rows and across the school stage, while backpacks lined the perimeter of the school gymnasium.
Bitsbox team members packing away!
The pink erasers were smooth, the college-ruled loose leaf sheets crisp, and the backpack designs SO cool. My favorites were a tie-dye backpack, a hybrid cat-mermaid design, and the incredibly well-structured backpacks for the high schoolers.
A few backpack designs
Our Bitsbox team also shared the volunteering time slot with a family consisting of a mother, grandmother, son, and daughter. If it sounds interesting, consider organizing a family trip to assemble backpacks or otherwise help students in your community be well-prepared for their return to school. Volunteermatch.com is a good place to start.
Just as well, if you find there are any Bitsbox coding materials you no longer need, there is likely a local school or library that would love to use them!
This is me with the Crayons 2 Calculators high school backpacks.
