Summer Initiative
BACK-TO-SCHOOL BACKPACKS
May 1st - September 1st, 2025
THE NEED
Being prepared for school impacts a child’s ability to fully embrace their education. If a child doesn’t have a backpack or the proper school supplies to succeed, this can lead to struggles with self-esteem, academic performance, and attendance. This is a very prevalent and unfortunate reality for the many children experiencing economic insecurity, poverty, and homelessness in America.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Bring the Back-to-School Backpacks Initiative to your community by filling out the interest form below! FOCUS North America will provide you with the resources and support you need to serve a group of children through a local school or organization.
ORGANIZE YOUR LOCAL
BACKPACKS INITIATIVE
We can help equip you with everything you need to support students going back to school in your local area.
There are TWO WAYS to organize this Initiative:
Backpacks Only
For a small gift of $10 per backpack, FOCUS will coordinate the purchasing and shipping of backpacks, connect you with a local school or school district, provide a list of needed school supplies, and support your distribution event. With these resources, you’ll complete the project locally by collecting school supply items to fill each backpack, organizing a packing party, and distributing the filled backpacks to children in your area before the school year begins.
Backpacks + Supply Kits
For a gift of $25 per backpack and supply kit, FOCUS will coordinate the purchasing and shipping of both backpacks and supplies, connect you with a local school or school district, provide a list of needed school supplies, and support your distribution event. If you’d prefer to bulk-purchase supplies instead of collecting them, we can send fully stocked backpacks directly to your parish. You can then organize a packing party and distribute the backpacks to children in your community before the school year begins.
Local Fundraising for your Backpacks
After you order your backpacks, you can engage your parish or community in supporting the project. One great option is to have individuals or families donate the cost of one or more backpacks or backpacks + supply kits, depending on what you ordered.
All donations towards your order should be collected locally and donated in one lump sum to FOCUS NA. Individuals should not give directly to FOCUS NA for this initiative.
If you only paid the deposit when you ordered, use this link to complete your payment, or mail the remaining payment to:
FOCUS NORTH AMERICA
Back to School Backpacks
PO BOX 645039
PITTSBURGH, PA 15264-5039
memo line: your parish or group name