GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — United Way’s annual Blooming Backpacks drive is underway with the collection of donated new backpacks filled with school supplies from the community happening now through August 8th when the distribution event is set to be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the John Zon Community Center in Greenfield. This program has provided hundreds of backpacks to Franklin County students since 2005.
From United Way:
ANNUAL UNITED WAY BACKPACK DRIVE RETURNS TO PROVIDE SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO STUDENTS
Greenfield, Mass., July 23, 2024 –The annual Blooming Backpacks drive has begun and will continue to gather new backpacks filled with school supplies from the community through Thursday, August 8th. The event, organized by Women’s Way, an affinity group of our local United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region (UWFH), has provided hundreds of backpacks each year to students across Franklin County since 2005. Trusted community nonprofit partners including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western MA, Community Action Family Center and Youth Programs, the Mary Lyon Foundation, and Montague Catholic Social Ministries will distribute the supplies to students in our region before the new school year begins.
Backpack and supply donations for elementary through high school students may be brought to a free celebration event with refreshments at the John Zon Community Center in Greenfield, to be held on Thursday, August 8th from 5:00-6:30 PM. Donations may also be dropped off through August 8th at UWFH’s Greenfield office, located at 51 Davis St, Suite 2. (Please contact UWFH for best office hours.) Monetary donations are also welcomed at https://cas5-0-urlprotect.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fuw%2dfh.org%2fwomensway&umid=32e6c98c-9d7a-4d64-88c3-f73413be5675&auth=8789d1923baeef5cdc1c0bb41e7be32625ccae84-3d327193ae12f63992ada899040a74c9cc2c549b or via check, with 100% of donations going toward the purchase of additional supplies.
Families that are struggling may need to make a choice between providing food or school supplies for their children. By providing free backpacks filled with essential school supplies, the Blooming Backpacks drive aims to reduce some of the burden on local families so that children can focus on a great start to the new school year. Feeling unprepared for the classroom can profoundly affect a student’s success. Research shows that when students enter school fully equipped with materials for learning, self-esteem, academic achievement, attendance, and classroom participation all improve.
A list of suggested school supplies may be found on the Women’s Way website. To RSVP for the August 8th event and learn more about donating to the drive, please email program@uw-fh.org, call 413-584-3962 x102 or x105, or visit uw-fh.org/womensway.
About Women’s Way
Formed in 2005 by a group of local women who wanted a hands-on way to drive change in Franklin County, Women’s Way is an integral part of our local United Way. Women’s Way fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in Franklin County. We are a diverse, vibrant community, bound together by a powerful sense of belonging — to each other, to the organization’s mission, and to the communities we call home.
Each year Women’s Way hosts two signature events: Supper for Six, which helps cover the food gap many families deal with during the February school break, and Blooming Backpacks, a school supply drive to make sure every student is ready for the new school year.