Give a Kid a Backpack handsout 10,000 backpack in the Central Florida Area

People began to gather outside the Amway Arena about 6 a.m. By 8, thousands were in a line stretching blocks long. By 9, the doors opened to about 10,000 people. They weren't there for a Magic game or a concert. They were there out of desperation, hoping to receive free backpacks, free immunizations, free school supplies and other items to help make the upcoming school year a bit more affordable in a tanking economy. Give a Kid a Backpack help hand out 10,000 backpacks. Children also received haircuts and health exams and other services and enjoyed entertainment.

Clean Out for Kids

With impact fees preventing more than 104 million children around the world from attending school, Give a Kid a Backpack (GKB) a nonprofit agency in Central Florida works to make a difference in these children’s lives. Their mission is to enrich the lives of impoverished children around the world with backpacks filled with school supplies through the partnership with other nonprofit organizations. This year GKB launched the Clean Out for Kids Campaign (CKC), which is a new initiative that empowers youth to recycle their gently used school supplies. These supplies were collected from schools in Lake, Orange, and Seminole County, that would have otherwise been thrown away. Twenty-five schools participated in the campaign collecting a total of 2,879 pounds of donations from the community, reducing waste and the impact on the planet, while providing children with the tools needed for an education.

Volunteers from local high schools, elementary schools, and their families logged 285 hours cleaning out supplies and putting together a total of 7,150 backpacks for distribution to children in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Africa, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Local organizations such as Rotary, Haven, and the Orange and Seminole County Sheriff Departments will be distributing 1,500 of those backpacks in Lake, Orange, and Osceola County alone.

With all that they were able to achieve this year, GKB hopes that more schools will be participating in next years event to continue the effort to provide for children’s education, both in underdeveloped nations and right here in the United States, and help in the preservation of our environment.

Need Volunteers

Give a Kid a Backpack is seeking volunteers to help sort and pack schools kits and backpacks.

Great family, youth or camp project!

Dates and hours of operation
Tuesday-Thursday 10am-2pm

June 9-11
June 15-18, 20
June 23-26, 27
June 30

1331 Green Forest Court Unit 10
Winter Garden, Fl 37487

Call 877-452-7225
rosanna@giveakidabackpack.org

Volunteer Corner

From March 5-15 I got to travel with the Give a Kid a Backpack Foundation to Nicaragua. With very minimal Spanish background, certain parts of the trip proved to be a bit confusing. Fortunately, I was always able, and offered plenty of help with the language barrier from our group leader, Rosanna as well as Ms. D (a high school teacher from Montverde Academy that joined us on our trip).

The trips that this organization plans are exceptional; a perfect combination of humanitarian aid mixed in with experiencing the culture of the country. We were able to visit the houses of some of the children from the schools we visited, which was an eye opening experience. A Nicaraguan family of twelve will live in a space equivalent to the average size of an American kids room. I vividly remember visiting one of the family’s houses. The house was build entirely of wood scraps, with only torn up sheets dividing the rooms. Most of the family slept on the mudded ground while the others had mattresses made from straw. The house conveyed just how little the people had.

While delivering the backpacks there were times that we got to just hang out and play with the children. The hardest part of the trip was not any of the work involved, nor having to leave family and friends. The most difficult part of the trip came when it was time to say goodbye to these kids whom had just become friends, not knowing if you would ever see them again.

An entire world exists beyond the borders of our American country that desperately needs our help. I hope and pray that this foundation will receive the support it needs to continue in helping school children all over the world. On the Give a Kid a Backpack trip I had the experience of a lifetime, learning things that could not be possible without actually living them.

Brent Rempel

Tools for School 2009

Nicaragua 2009 Delivery

Nicaragua 2009 Pics