Excerpt
Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas (VOACC) today announced the start of its annual Operation Backpack® campaign. The campaign, active for more than a decade, aims to stand in the gap for the region’s most vulnerable children by providing backpacks, school supplies and funding for academic enrichment to more than 2,000 homeless and underprivileged children served by VOACC programming.
This year, due to COVID-19, Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas has altered its approach to Operation Backpack®. Many children will be distance learning and now, more than ever, need the appropriate access to computers, Wi-Fi and other technology to receive an education. The nonprofit’s fundraising goal is $25,000 but is focusing on letting donors know that $350 will ensure that a child has access to a laptop computer. Additionally, $25 will provide a new backpack filled with the required supplies for a child in VOACC’s care.
“Ordinarily we rely on the public – mainly companies – to organize drives that result in at least 2,000 full backpacks,” said President/CEO of Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas Russ Snyder. “For the other items needed, we raise funds to purchase school supplies, secure in-kind product donations and fill backpacks from scratch with the help of volunteers in August. This year, with many employees working remotely and social distancing efforts in place, we simply cannot bank on things returning to normal in time to conduct Operation Backpack® in the usual way.”
Click here to read the full article: https://baltimore.citybizlist.com/article/619962/volunteers-of-america-chesapeake-carolinas-kicks-off-operation-backpack-campaign
See also: Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is donating Chromebooks to assist remote learning in Prince George County in Maryland for #operationbackpack: https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/news/yannick-ngakoue-donating-chromebooks-to-aid-remote-learning-in-maryland
