Lakeside HOPE House is still taking donations for the annual backpack program.
Every year for the past five years, Lakeside HOPE House has provided backpacks stuffed with various school supplies to roughly 1,000 city school children, from junior kindergarten up to high school.
It might be a backpack and lunch bag with crayons for the youngest recipients, up to binders, pencil cases and scientific calculators for the high schoolers.
There used to be several such projects in the city every summer but they have now been centralized at HOPE House, coordinating efforts by Lakeside, the Salvation Army and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition.
Lunch bags are the key area of need right now, said Julia Harkness, the program’s coordinator.
“We’re asking that donations be in by Aug. 9 so that we have time to figure out inventory,” said Harkness.
Volunteers will stuff the backpacks later this month and they will be distributed throughout town in time for the start of the school year.
Lakeside HOPE House Operations Lead Kristen Tilley said the program is almost at the point where it is totally funded by the Guelph community.
Leading the way is Fusion Homes, who donate $10,000 as the program’s main sponsor.
“A lot of the items are just things people in the community drop off,” Tilley said.
“People go out buying their school supplies with their children and they buy an extra few things to show their own kids that not everyone has all the things they do,” Tilley said.
Any extra supplies are saved for next year.
Applications to receive one of the backpacks closed a couple of weeks ago. Applications are still being accepted and those eligible to receive a backpack will go on a waiting list, said Harkness. If there are extra backpacks left over they might receive one.
For donation information contact Tilley at [email protected].
