Donate To Backpack, School Supplies Drive For MOCO Students

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Donate $10 to Montgomery County Public Schools and a student in need will be given a backpack filled with school supplies they need for the year. The "Give Backpacks" campaign gave 26,111 students in the district supplies for virtual learning during the 2020-2021 academic year.

"Over 61,000 MCPS students receive free & reduced-price meals and many families struggle to afford basic necessities like school supplies," the district's website says. "Now more than ever, in recovering from the global pandemic, more students are going to need help accessing school supplies."

One $10 donation will provide the following:

• Backpack
• 12-Pack of pencils
• Pencil box
• 24-Pack of crayons
• Glue stick
• Composition notebook
• Dry erase marker
• Sharpener for pencils and crayons
• Scissors
• Sheet protectors (to be used as a whiteboard)

For secondary school students:

• Backpack
• 12-Pack of pencils
• 6-Pack of black pens
• 1 Pack of filler paper – 100 sheets, wide-rule
• 1 Pack of 3-ring dividers – 5 tabs
• 3 Ring binder
• 2 Pocket folder
• 12- Pack colored pencils

The district's goal for this year is to fill 30,000 backpacks with supplies, though the ideal goal would be to have 61,000 backpacks to give to every student qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the district said.

How To Donate:

(From MCPS' frequently asked questions)

1. Donate by check – Make payable to: “GIVE BACKpacks” or “GIVE BACKpacks - name of school” Mail check to: MCPS Educational Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 1007 Rockville, MD 20849 – 1007
2. Donate online using: www.mcpsgivebackpacks.org
3. Donate via text message: Text ‘Backpack’ to 301-329-2238.
   1. A reply will ask, “How much would you like to give?”
   2. Enter your donation amount (minimum of $10 is required)
   3. Respond to the reply, “Would you like this gift to be recurring?” Enter “yes” or “no
   4. Enter your credit/debit card and billing information, and you’re done!

For more information about Give Backpacks, visit the MCPS website here.