Team of three fills 3,000 backpacks full of supplies for children in need

CALGARY -

For 15 years Stephen McPhee has led annual campaigns involving up to 500 volunteers to help provide supplies for children headed back to school.

This year, due to COVID-19 protocols, his team was reduced to three.

Overcoming these challenges, on Friday Stephen and his family put the finishing touches on 3,000 backpacks full of school and sanitation supplies to be distributed in schools throughout Calgary.

Stephen's team was joined by a dozen members from Honda Canada to fill and seal the final boxes, stuffed to the brim with backpacks full of supplies.

The boxes were sealed at Stephen's Backpack Society warehouse on 17 Ave SE.

Stephen's backpacks, August 20, 2021

"Every box holds 10 backpacks with 20 different types of supplies," said Nancy McPhee, Executive Director of Stephen's Backpack Society. "We had a lot of feedback about kids going to school without shampoo or soap at home; that's a luxury for a lot of families now, that was something we really tried to address," added McPhee. 

Besides the sanitation supplies, each backpack contains items such as binders, pens, calculators and paper for children headed back to class.  The backpacks will be distributed in elementary, middle and high schools in the Calgary area.

Boxes of backpacks, Friday Aug. 20, 2021

"It's just been the three of us here this year," said Stephen McPhee, noting the warehouse had 15 to 20 volunteers a day filling backpacks prior to the pandemic. "It's been hard work, but fun at the same time.  It makes me feel good to know I helped put all of this together; we've done a lot in short amount of time," he added.

Over the past 15 years, Stephen's Backpack Society has donated over 80,000 backpacks and 15,000 pairs of running shoes for children in need.

The next major project for Stephen's Backpack Society is to donate a furnished home, the 33rd donated by the Society, to a family in need sometime in the fall. 

Further information can be found at www.stephensbackpacks.com