School Supply Drive Seeks To Provide 3,500 Filled Backpacks To Alexandria Students

ALEXANDRIA, VA — While students and their families are enjoying summer break, Alexandria City Public Schools is preparing to ensure students in need will have school supplies for the new school year.

ACPS announced its Backpack & School Supply Drive has started and runs through Aug. 4. The school supply drive has a goal of collecting 3,500 filled backpacks, which school social workers will help distribute to PreK-12 students in need. Last year, ACPS met its goal of collecting 3,500 filled backpacks.

The community can help in a few ways. The most direct way is to buy new backpacks or other items on the ACPS PreK-Grade 12 school supply list or online wish list, and drop donations off at an ACPS school collection sites. The collection sites are Alexandria City High School–3330 King Street and Mount Vernon Community School–2601 Commonwealth Ave. and can accept donations Mondays through Thursdays through Aug. 4.

Residents can also host school supplies collection drives in their neighborhoods and organizations, make a financial contribution to the school supply drive, host a fundraiser and donate proceeds to the school supply drive, or create "welcome back" notes that will be included in the donated backpacks.

Families who need a backpack for their student are asked to contact their school's social worker. Blaszkow Legal is also hosting its third annual Project Backpack Giveaway from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 9 at 5270 Shawnee Road, Alexandria, VA. The initiative will give away about 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies. Supplies are limited, so families are encouraged to pre-register.