Nashville’s “Backpack Heroes” Accepting Donations Through July 23!
Help local children in need start the school year prepared and confident. The Youth Villages Backpack Heroes program is accepting school supply donations through July 23 – every little bit helps.
Purchasing essential back-to-school supplies for their children is a heavy financial burden for many families throughout Middle Tennessee. This year, the Youth Villages Backpack Heroes campaign needs help to provide backpacks, school supplies, and other essentials to more than 1,700 youth in the organization’s programs.
The organization is accepting donations of all sizes through July 23, from single packs of pencils to fully-stuffed backpacks.
Students from pre-kindergarten through college can start the school year with high self-esteem, knowing they have everything they need to focus on academics and friendship.
“We don’t want our families and young people to have to worry about that extra cost,” says Julie Abbott, community development manager for Youth Villages Middle Tennessee. “Now the kids can be comfortable in that classroom to learn and be proud of themselves and have that confidence so they can excel.”
In Middle Tennessee, Youth Villages works with children involved in child welfare and children’s mental health systems and their families. The organization also supports young people who have aged out of foster care at 18 and are in college or job training programs.
Youth Villages has offices in Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Dickson, and Nashville, serving the region’s metro and rural communities. In addition to foster care, the organization offers Intercept, intensive in-home services for children who are at risk of being removed from the home, as well as LifeSet, a program supporting youth aging out of the foster care system and helping them navigate adulthood.
“As a parent, it’s a little something lifted off our shoulders,” shares Kara Puckett, foster parent of over two years. “We can use that money we would have spent on school supplies on other special things for our foster daughter like soccer and birthday parties.”
“I know being a foster parent isn’t for everyone, but everyone can do something to help,” adds Kara.
For full lists of school supplies needed or to make a donation, visit the Middle Tennessee Backpack Heroes website or contact Julie Abbott at [email protected].
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Brittany Farrar
Brittany is the Regional Director of Programs at Youth Villages Middle TN.
