By Zach Manges
Indy Backpack Attack is beginning its 16th annual school supply drive by collecting donated materials for underserved schoolchildren in Indiana. Zionsville residents and businesses have been busy stockpiling materials for donation since Backpack Attack kicked off yesterday at the Indianapolis Zoo.
Locally, the Boone County Rural Electric Membership Corp. has already donated $500, and the UPS Foundation has given $5,000.
“Our ultimate goal would be for every child to start school on the first day with the supplies they need,” co-chair of Indy Backpack Attack Tiffany Dial said. “We try to get as many supplies as we can. We want to ease the worry of parents who can’t afford them.”
Beginning in 1999 as a collaboration between businesses who recognized a strong need, the group collects everything from basic classroom supplies to personal hygiene items for students who may not have easy access to them. Most donations come in a mix of supplies in bins and monetary donations through the Backpack Attack website. For big-ticket items like backpacks and scientific calculators that aren’t donated as frequently bulk purchases are made using online funds.
“We have 120 to 140 businesses participating depending on the year. They’re real team-building exercises,” Dial said. “We’ve gotten a lot of support from the community. It’s important that they see it’s going to have a long-lasting impact.”
Dial said that many businesses will turn the collection into a fun competition. Indy Backpack Attack started a contest of their own where organizations can decorate their collection bins, as they’d noticed this taking place even without incentives.
“There’s nothing better than a kid happy about getting a new backpack. It shows the real excitement there is with education that you might not think is still there,” Dial said. “When they have the tools to do their work, the smiles on their faces show how appreciative they are and that makes it all worth it.”
