The Kane County Regional Office of Education (ROE) recently co-sponsored Project Backpack, which is a community-based initiative led by Elgin Community College (ECC) and other event partners to benefit K-12 and college students in need by offering appropriate resources to start a successful school year. Since 2010, Project Backpack has helped over 17,000 students.
According to Jimmy Pawola, ROE Equal Chance Program Liaison for the Kane County Regional Office of Education “For some children, purchasing new school supplies is a normal part of going back to school. For others, school supplies are not readily available and it may set a negative tone that carries with them throughout the entire school year. Project Backpack makes sure that all students have the proper tools for a positive school experience.”
Regional Superintendent Patricia Dal Santo strongly believes in helping create more equity in school districts. “A simple act as donating a backpack full of school supplies can be the one thing that pushes a child toward a love of school, giving them the encouragement, they need to have continued academic success throughout their academic career,” adding, “for the Kane County ROE office to be a small part of that is quite humbling.”
In 2022 Project Backpack impacted 1,700 students. These students reside in the school communities of U-46, District 20, District 300, District 301, District 302, District 303, EMSA, and Elgin Community College. Each bag includes school supplies kits and mental health/agency information. Bags were put together during the week of July 26 at Elgin Community College with the help of their Student Life volunteers.
Discover more about Project Backpack, visit project-backpack.org. Learn more about the Kane County ROE, visit www.kaneroe.org. Stay updated with Kane ROE and subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter from the Kane ROE and follow-on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.