A group of London businesses are trying to make sure every child in the area has a backpack full of school supplies when they return to the classroom next month.
The fifth annual Rock Back to School campaign launched this week, with Free 98.1, Preferred Insurance, the Salvation Army, Real Canadian Superstore, and the Thames Valley Education Foundation collecting donations.
Volunteers stuff donated lunch bags, calculators, pens, pencil crayons, paper, and binders inside each of the donated backpacks. Those school essential stuffed bags are then distributed to over 4,000 kids in need within the Thames Valley District School Board and London District Catholic School Board.
"We are lucky every year. People drop off pens, pencils, paper but backpacks, calculators, and lunch bags seem to be what we are short on," said Rachel LeClair, development assistant with the Thames Valley Education Foundation.
Donations for the Rock Back to School campaign can be dropped off until August 31 at the Salvation Army, Preferred Insurance, and Real Canadian Superstores in London, St. Thomas, and Strathroy.
"We absolutely love this program. The last four years we have put together 362 loaded backpacks with our business partners," said Peter Carr, vice president of sales and marketing at Preferred Insurance. "Hopefully we will have another big result this year. We are shooting for 100 more loaded backpacks."
Principals at each of the region's schools will be in charge of handing out the supply filled backpacks to students on the first day of school.