School supply drive this weekend will give away 1,500 free backpacks filled with supplies

PHOENIX – Kids are heading back to school here in Arizona and many of them are in need of supplies for the new year.

To help, a school supply drive will be held on Saturday from 8-11 a.m. at the Inter-Stake Center in Mesa, which is located just south of Main Street and Horne.

The drive, which is being put on by TruWest Credit Union and Community Bridges Inc., will hand out free backpacks, school supplies, laptops, and more to local families.

How school supply drives help Arizona families

The average family will spend more than $858 per child on school supplies this year, according to the National Retail Federation.

While that number is down from the high of more than $890 in 2023, it is still almost $300 higher than families were paying per child in 2019.

Rachel Caballero with TruWest explained that due to the high cost of supplies, even a small amount of that being knocked off helps families.

“From a financial perspective, about 70% of parents are eliminating things from their budget that they would normally get or they plan on going into debt for back-to-school shopping,” she said. “And back-to-school shopping this year is about 17% higher than it was last year with the inflation.”

The event will also offer free dental and haircut services for kids before they head back to school.

Caballero said putting together supplies for that many kids was a team effort.

“We hosted drives where we invited employees, community members, and our members to come and donate,” Caballero said. “And then the rest of the supplies were supplied by sponsorships and community donations.”

Caballero suggested showing up early if you plan to attend Saturday’s school supply drive, as the line could get long.

For more information and a way to donate to the drive can be found on Community Bridges Inc.’s website.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

Related

900 Arizona children to gain access to child care, Gov. Hobbs announcesPhoenix vice mayor working to reduce education inequalities in Arizona and other statesPeoria Unified board member questions quality of training, alleges sex scandal cover-upPeoria Unified governing board members deny accusations surrounding teacher sex caseArizona judge rejects Republican effort to block ESA reform ballot initiative; appeal plannedMore school closures could be coming in the West Valley