Volunteer Project: Backpack for Needy Kids
Spread the love (and the pencils, and the erasers, and the glue sticks...)
Submitted by
Kayla Chong
Kayla Chong
September means back-to-school shopping, but for millions of impoverished kids, loading up on school supplies and new shoes isn't in the cards. Encourage your child to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate by making a "back-to-school backpack" for a kid in need.
- Volunteer:Your kid
- A new backpack:Have your child pick out something he'd love to use.
- School supplies:See the age-appropriate lists below.
- A kid in need:See the list below.
- Label:A piece of paper and pen to write down the age the pack is intended for.
Help your kid find a child to donate his "back to-school backpack" to. Contact your local homeless or battered women's shelters to see if there are any needy school-aged children there. You can also contact a local school to see if they know of any kids in need of a little help. It's probably not a fab idea to donate the pack to a kid in your child's school, as both children may feel awkward knowing the origin of the backpack. Best to keep it anonymous.
Next, have your child pick out a cool backpack. He can pick one out for a kid in need when you take him shopping for his own school bag.
Next, take him to the store and have him stuff the backpack with all of the things a kid needs to get a good start in school. Everything should be brand spankin' new!
For kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, your child should scoop up the following supplies:- A notebook
- Two writing pens
- Two pencils and a few pencil grip
- A cool small pencil sharpener
- Markers or crayons
- A glue stick
- Some cool stickers for decorating notebooks
- A few lined, spiral notebooks
- Writing pens
- A cool pencil case
- A bunch of number-two pencils for all those standardized tests
- A pencil sharpener
- Markers or colored pencils
- Cool folders
- A ruler
- Different colored highlighters
- A three-ring binder
- Writing paper
- A calculator
- A pocket-sized dictionary
- Label the backpack with a tag indicating the age it's meant for. One cool idea is to have your kid make a backpack for a kid his own age. That way he'll really know exactly what to get the other kid!
When the bag is bursting at the seams with supplies, zip it up and take your kid to a local shelter or school to drop it off.
Let your kid know you are proud of his accomplishment. What a kool way to start off the skool year!
- Is your little one a fashionista? Have her donate a pair (or two) of new shoes and new back to school outfit to a needy kid instead of a backpack. My New Red Shoes is a fabulous non-profit that will help deliver the goods to a child in need. They even have a great "Kids helping Kids" program with cool ideas, such as a "Shiny Shoes Party" or "Shoe Drive" to encourage kids to get involved!
Submit!
