What if a backpack is more than a backpack? A backpack, by simple definition, is something that carries books, binders, and writing utensils from home to class and back again. However, a backpack is also pride. A backpack is also confidence. A backpack is also opportunity. A backpack is also hope.

Imagine that you are back in middle school. Your social studies teacher announces that you have a pop quiz. You are told to take out a piece of paper and a pen. Maybe your parents are struggling to find enough work to pay the bills. Maybe your family has experienced an unexpected injury or illness. Maybe your rent has unexpectedly gone up this year. Whatever the case may be (and believe me, there are many cases), you did not get to go school supply shopping this year. You do not have a piece of paper or a pen. Perhaps you have friends that you can ask to help you. Perhaps, though, you are too proud or embarrassed to ask for help. Perhaps you don’t have any friends who can help you. Instead, you put your head down, and you don’t receive credit for your assignment. Or, instead, you disrupt class. You would much rather have someone laughing with you than at you. Next, you go to math class where it seems that everyone else has the expensive graphing calculators that your family couldn’t afford. This feels like a nightmare, and you are uncomfortable standing out. To escape, you disrupt class again. You are sent to the assistant principal’s office and where you are lectured, given lunch detention, and miss valuable class time. When you get home, you are tired and don’t have the supplies to do your homework. Your family receives a call that you were disruptive in class, and they take away your phone. You are grounded, and you become even more sad, frustrated, and stressed. You are no closer to being able to complete your assignments. 

Now, imagine that you did have access to a backpack full of school supplies. Imagine if you had the ability to fully participate in lessons. Imagine if you did not feel the stress of always feeling behind and different. With your help, we can make this a reality.

Last year, Bacon Street Youth and Family Services provided 200 students in Hampton with backpacks full of supplies and access to snacks. This year, we are hoping to expand our reach across Hampton Roads to service more of our clients and community members. We will be providing 300 backpacks full of supplies to students in grades K-12 on August 18th from 2PM-6PM at our Williamsburg, Hampton, and Gloucester offices. 
If you are able to donate, we are collecting donations at our offices and accepting monetary donations as well. A full supply wish list and drop off information is available here. While pencils and calculators and backpacks and glue sticks may seem like a routine purchase for some families, the estimated $800 expense for a household (according to a 2020 survey by the National Retail Foundation) can be an impossible budget item. Your generosity can, quite literally, change a student’s life for the better.