Back to School Drive, August 2021

This August, Project Downtown put together 700 backpacks filled with a variety of necessary school supplies for students in the Jennings school District. The packaging and distribution of the​ backpacks was completed with the help of 14 Project Downtown volunteers.

Project Downtown board member Hadeel Nasser led the charge on this project.

"The motivation behind the Back to School drive is to support students of all ages in their education journey. With the crucial supplies, students will be able to learn the best they can and maximize their knowledge effectively. Our goal is to be a backbone for the students of our future generation and make sure they are well-skilled," Nasser said.

Quality supplies were ordered from Bags-in-Bulk and distributed on August 1st. The supplies varied for elementary, middle and high school backpacks. Supplies included highlighters, binders, folders, pencils, pencil pouches, pencil sharpeners, pens and markers. Planning a drive with such large quantities of materials required precision in organization.  

"To every problem, there is a solution," Nasser said. "If Bags-in-Bulk didn't have a certain item, I made sure the item was found. I went to supplies stores around town and collected what was needed. As well as, if there was a higher quantity than expected, we made sure to donate supplies to the school so they could store extras for teachers and students who may need it."

The event was overall very successful and Nasser credits the Jennings school district's educational staff and Project Downtown board members for their hard work and support.

Please click here to donate to our Back to School GoFundMe!

Changing lives, one backpack at a time.