With just a $40 donation, Calgarians can help put school supplies in a backpack for children of low income families.
The City of Calgary Community & Neighbourhood Services has teamed up with Staples stores to ensure children of low-income families have school supplies for the upcoming school year.
There are only three weeks left in the program according to youth social worker Carmen Marquez, but the organizers are still short of their target.
“We are calling out to Calgarians to visit stores and help us reach our goal. It’s so important and especially for low-income families, even a backpack can be quite a daunting cost,” Marquez said.
Staples employees are volunteering their time with their friends and their families to pack the backpacks full of pens, pencils, paper, erasers and other school supplies, general manager Arlene Gillespie said.
“We’ve done this for five years now and everyone really enjoys helping out,” she said. “Every year we’re almost able to double how many people participate in the program.”
The program is full for recipients and just needs help filling the backpacks, say the organizers.
