Photo Coverage: Paige Davis Hosts Operation Backpack for Underprivileged Children
By: Genevieve Rafter Keddy Jun. 23, 2011
Trading Spaces star Paige Davis, Volunteers of America (VOA) Greater New York volunteers, Girl Scouts and students filled donated backpacks to kick off VOA's Operation Backpack campaign, which begins June 27th. The drive collects brand-new, grade-specific backpacks and school supplies for children in New York area shelters, so they can begin the school year with confidence, feeling more like their housed classmates. In a continuing partnership with Volunteers of America, every Duane Reade location will be accepting donations of new backpacks and school supplies from the public.Parents of children who benefitted from the program were on hand, along with BroadwayWorld who was there to capture the heartfelt event.
One of the most devastating consequences of homelessness is the impact it has on a child's education. Nearly 11,000 school-age children are living in New York City homeless shelters on any given day. Most of them would face the start of school in September without basic school supplies if not for Operation Backpack. Relieving their parents of yet another financial burden, the program raises public awareness about the needs of homeless families and the impact homelessness has on a child's education.
Volunteers of America's back-to-school drive began in 1999 as a small effort to collect school supplies for the children in its shelters. In 2003 the campaign was re-branded Operation Backpack to reflect its ambitious, new goal: to give every child in the New York City shelter system who needs one, a new backpack filled with grade-specific school supplies. Last year VOA outfitted more than 7,000 homeless children and the goal for this year is at least 9,000. Operation Backpack was so successful that it is now held in other VOA locations across the country.For more informtion, visit www.OperationBackpacknyc.org.
Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter Keddy
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Operation Backpack 2011
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Operation Backpack 2011
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Paige Davis and Local Girl Scouts help fill backpacks
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Paige Davis and Local Girl Scouts help fill backpacks
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Paige Davis and Local Girl Scouts help fill backpacks
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Paige Davis and Local Girl Scouts help fill backpacks
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Kerry Henry, Paige Davis and Albert Santiago
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.jpg "Photo Coverage: Paige Davis Hosts Operation Backpack for Underprivileged Children")
.jpg "Photo Coverage: Paige Davis Hosts Operation Backpack for Underprivileged Children")
The Finished Product
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