Family and Children's Services Foundation "Backpack Program" Update

As September approaches, we know school is on everyone’s minds, and although ‘back to school’ looks very different this year, we recognize that many children returning to school next month may need support in the form of backpacks and school supplies.

This year, Family & Children’s Services Foundation began working on a new collaborative community backpack program with Send ‘Em Off Smiling and House of Friendship. This was put on hold due to the pandemic, but we know that families still need support!

If you are working with a family who is in need of back to school support, Send ‘Em Off Smiling will be running their backpack program through participating schools this year. We encourage families to connect with their school’s administration to find out if the school is participating in the program.

Participating schools will have the forms to fill out, and requests will be fulfilled and delivered by Send ‘Em Off Smiling on an ongoing basis as donations are received (September-November). For children attending schools which are not part of the program, there are a limited number of unfilled backpacks available in the Foundation donation room, so please feel free to stop by to see if any would fit the family’s needs.

For those families requiring support for school materials for distance/at-home learning, please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-support-families for information about one-time funding available until August 31.

We wish everyone a safe and healthy back to school season!