Dallas Mayor and Amazon Step Up to Help Vulnerable School Kids: This is No Ordinary Backpack Drive

Backpacks donated are full of necessities from school supplies, to uniforms and underwear; photo courtesy of the Mayor's Back to School Fair

Calling all local Dallas businesses and organizations: Mayor Mike Rawlings is in need of your help.

In preparation for the upcoming Mayor’s Back to School Fair, Rawlings intends to do good for elementary-school-aged youth in Dallas by asking any willing individual or group to conduct a Fill the Backpack school-supplies drive. Participants have the option to host a physical drive, where items are collected on site, or an online drive, where backpacks with school supplies can be purchased remotely.

Each year, the fund-raiser provides around 15,000 Pre-K though 12th-grade students with the necessary tools for the upcoming school year. The most rewarding part? Backpacks will be distributed to children across DFW at the main event on Friday, August 3, at Fair Park.

The fair also offers free health screenings and services, and an array of information on educational, social, government, and community organizations. Don’t miss out on the chance to get your back-to-schooler a free haircut.

Rawlings isn’t the only big name to step up for the Dallas community. Amazon has recently pledged to donate $10,000 to the Tarrant Area Food Bank’s Food for Kids program. This gesture alone will fund 2,000 backpacks filled with food for vulnerable and impoverished children living in the Fort Worth this summer.

The deadline to sign up for the drive is Friday, June 22. Email Angela Shellene at ashellene@thereedsprc.com for more information.