A child receives a backpack from volunteers at a community school supply event.

JULY · ANNUAL

Back to School

A backpack is a small thing. Walking into a classroom without one is not.

Every July, families across Southern Nevada face the same arithmetic: rent, utilities, and a school supply list that runs to forty dollars a child. For a household already stretched, the list is what breaks.

So every July we fill backpacks — notebooks, pencils, folders, glue, the whole list — and hand them out. Last year more than 100 families lined up before we opened the doors. Children left holding a bag that was theirs, ready for the first day like everyone else.

We do this with help. Whole Foods has supported the event. Ninth Island Aunties — a group of women from Hawaii who look after local children and families in need — worked alongside us to distribute supplies and backpacks.

One July morning

The day, from line to lane

A long line of Southern Nevada families waits outside a community center for the annual backpack distribution. — Families line up before the doors open for the annual distribution.

A child smiles as a volunteer hands him a new backpack filled with supplies.

Children choose notebooks and other school supplies from a full table.

A child wearing a new backpack bowls while families and volunteers cheer.

Put a backpack in a child's hands.

Twenty dollars helps one child walk into school ready for the first day.

Donate now