By Sophie Pappas
The school year may seem to have just finished, but students and teachers around the state are already gearing up for the fall. Every year, United Way of Central Indiana in Boone County organizes a month-long school supply drive in Zionsville, Lebanon and Western Boone school districts to help underprivileged kids. They then gather all the supplies and use them to stuff more than 1,400 backpacks.
These backpacks full of supplies are then given away at a big festival called Backpack Attack on the first Saturday in August to help kids across Boone County get prepared and excited for the coming school year.
Plus, Zionsville residents are encouraged to join in on an Alpha Leos scavenger hunt to help donate school supplies. To sign up for the scavenger hunt, visit Akard True Value Hardware in Boone Village.
ITEMS NEEDED:
- Wide-ruled notebooks
- Scissors
- Eraser caps
- Colored pencils
- Pocket folders
- Washable markers
- Glue sticks
- Loose-leaf paper
- Index cards
- No. 2 pencils
FACTS:
- More than 2,500 children in Boone County live in food-insecure homes. That means they do not know where their next meal is coming from.
- Last year, 85 percent of the students who received backpacks and supplies reported that they were on free and reduced lunch services at school because they cannot afford school lunch. This number is rising.
- This year, United Way is donating 200 more backpacks than last year, for a grand total of 1,400 backpacks filled with countless school supplies. United Way expects to see more 4,000 students and their families at the Backpack Attack festival and receive the support provided by the other resources there, like free haircuts, free books for all ages, and free passes to the YMCA for child care.
