Every August, Children’s Home & Aid gears up to get our kids ready for back to school. We collect school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, binders, pencils, color pencils and folders. With the help from our generous corporate partners, we were able to supply 600 children from nine programs across the Chicago-area with a backpack before beginning the new school year.

On August 6, Vistex Endeavor hosted a Root Beer Social on National Root Beer Float Day to raise money and bring in school supplies for our programs. Employees paid $5 or brought in 5 school supply items to receive a root beer float. The results were amazing! At the end of the day, Vistex presented Children’s Home & Aid with 25 backpacks and a handful of supplies. Vistex employees also raised over $450 and the company generously matched those contributions. Such a fun and successful way to celebrate Root Beer Float Day!

On August 7, Children’s Home & Aid partnered with Hu-Friedy to host a back-to-school “shopping spree” event at our Mitzi Friedheim Family & Child Center. The gym was set up for each child to go shopping for back-to-school supplies from the more than 100 backpacks and school supplies donated by Hu-Friedy employees. The kids were happy to go on a shopping spree where they were able to pick out their very own backpack and supplies. No child left without a smile on their face and a new backpack strapped around their shoulders.

On August 14, I-Car dropped off 15 backpacks they collected throughout their organization. The backpacks were stuffed with awesome school supplies to help prepare the students for the new school year.

On August 17, Essendant, a longtime partner for our Back to School drive, provided Children’s Home & Aid with 525 backpacks filled with school supplies! Thanks to the work of Essendant volunteers who put together the backpacks filled with supplies, Children’s Home & Aid was able to provide backpacks to children and youth in our Foster Care, Power of Fathers and Parents Care & Share programs and the Family CARES Center.

Thanks to our partnerships with Vistex, Hu-Friedy, I-Car and Essendant, we are able to supply the children and youth we serve with the tools they need to have a successful school year!

Want to help local students start the new school year off right? Click here to support our Back to School drive.