Create Back-to-School Kits

Share Your Family’s Abundance

Help another child start the school year with success, in spite of family challenges or tight times. Back-to-school shopping for another child can also help your family kickstart the school year in a community-minded way.

Possible recipients

To find an organization that distributes school supplies, check volunteermatch.org or call Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services or Jewish Family Services. A social worker at your local school can also help you find an organization or obtain a list of desired items.

What you’ll need

• Backpack

• School supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, ruler, folders, crayons, etc.)

• NOTE: Requirements might vary, so check with your chosen organization to make sure you’re on target.

Instructions

• When shopping together for your child’s school supplies, pick up one extra of each item, or select items from the list you were given.

• Fill a backpack with your donated supplies.

• Deliver it to the organization.

Reflections

• How would it feel if you went to school and didn’t have the supplies you needed?

• Why is it important to make sure kids are prepared for school?

• Do you think education matters? Why or why not?

• Making these kits is one way we can help someone do better in school. Do you remember a time when someone helped you learn?

Resources

• Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter (Beach Lane Books, 2009). Ages 4-8. A story that helps young children understand that education is a privilege.

• This Is the Way We Go to School: A Book about Children Around the World by Edith Baer (Scholastic, 1992). Ages 4-8. A book in rhyme about how various children get to school.

• My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs (Boyds Mills Press, 2002). Ages 9-12. A look at the many ways children receive books.

Take it further

• Each year when you purchase school supplies, make it a habit to purchase extra supplies to donate.

• Have your child make a “Have a Good School Year” card for the student in need and include it in the backpack.

• Expand your gift to include a bag of new socks or underwear, hand sanitizer, barrettes, facial tissue, or other things children need (or would like) to begin the new school year.

Still looking? Get in the mood for school with these learning resources.

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The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.