Media Contact: Heather Abbruzze
Slatkow & Husak Public Relations
EdFoundation@SlatkowHusak.com or 561.278.0850
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY CONTINUES ITS COMMUNITY-WIDE EFFORT TO STUFF 36,000 BACKPACKS FOR LOCAL STUDENTS
Businesses, Families and Community Members Invited to Volunteer Throughout the Summer
 
(Lake Worth, Fla.) – The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County is launching its annual community-wide backpack initiative with a record-breaking goal of stuffing and distributing over 36,000 backpacks filled with essential school supplies. The backpacks will then be distributed to students at 55 Title I schools across Palm Beach County before the start of the 2026-2027 school year in August.
 
Throughout the summer, volunteer groups, businesses, families and community members will come together to help assemble backpacks with supplies such as notebooks, pencils, glue sticks and folders — items many local families struggle to afford. The initiative has become one of the Foundation’s largest and most impactful community service efforts focused on ensuring students begin the school year prepared, confident and ready to learn.
 
The backpack initiative began eight years ago with just 2,500 backpacks. Today, the need has grown significantly, as nearly 40,000 children in Palm Beach County live below the poverty level and may return to school without even the most basic classroom supplies.
 
“When we first launched this initiative, we never imagined it would grow to this scale,” said James Gavrilos, President and CEO of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. “Our goal this year is to provide 36,000 students with the tools they need to start school ready to succeed. A backpack filled with supplies may seem simple, but for many children it represents hope, confidence and opportunity on the very first day of school. No student should walk into a classroom feeling unprepared because their family cannot afford basic supplies.”
 
The backpack initiative is part of the Foundation’s signature program, Red Apple Supplies, a free resource store serving teachers from the highest-need schools in the School District of Palm Beach County. Since opening in 2016, Red Apple Supplies has distributed more than $9.2 million in school supplies to local classrooms and now supports 105 schools across the district. The program also helps alleviate the financial burden many teachers face, as educators often spend between $500 and $800 of their own money annually on classroom supplies for students in need.
 
“This initiative is about more than school supplies — it’s about showing students and families that the community cares,” said Lisa King, Board Chair for the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. “Every backpack stuffed by a volunteer represents encouragement and support for a child heading into a new school year. We are incredibly grateful for the businesses, organizations and volunteers who continue to step up and help us meet this growing need.”
 
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County serves as a nexus between public schools, the private sector and the community, operating more than 100 programs that help close achievement gaps, prepare students for post-secondary success and create measurable change for more than 100,000 students.
 
Community members, businesses and organizations interested in volunteering, donating supplies, hosting supply drives or becoming partners in the backpack initiative are encouraged to participate throughout the summer. Backpack build events and volunteer opportunities will take place throughout July at the Foundation’s Center for Public School Excellence & Innovation in Lake Worth Beach. For more information, please visit Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. To make a donation or become a community partner, please contact Teresa@EducationFoundationPBC.org or call 561-351-7196.
 
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