Free Backpacks Available For Concord Children In Need Sunday

CONCORD, NH — A local wireless franchisee is working to assist families in need in lowering the cost of going back-to-school by offering free backpacks and school supplies to elementary schoolchildren in the capital region. For the third year, Wireless Zone on D'Amante Drive in Concord is participating in the Culture of Good charity initiative with around 1,300 other Wireless Zones across the country. Starting at 1 p.m. on July 21, while supplies last, children from the Concord area can visit the store and request a backpack along with pencils, paper, glue sticks, and other items.

Hundreds of backpacks should be available to students on Sunday.

"We really like it," Briana Broshanan, the general manager of the store, said of the charity initiative. "We're trying to target the people who can use them the most."

The first year the store held the giveaway, it was "a smashing success," she said, with the store running "out of backpacks super quickly … in about a few minutes." But the second year, they didn't promote it as much and had backpacks leftover. This year, Broshanan has reached out to other organizations to let them know that if they have children in need of a backpack, to come by the store on Sunday.

The only requirement is that the children have to physically come into the store so they can pick out their own backpack.

Each Wireless Zone buys the backpacks as part of its charitable giving for the year. Broshanan and her family also own a Wireless Zone store in Raymond. They have been in the business for around 25 years. Broshanan has been working at the Concord location for about a decade.

Verizon Wireless, she noted, had great coverage and customer service, adding that it was a joy working to sell their services even though the wireless industry can be very competitive. She noted that they had "really loyal customers and we appreciate that."

The backpack giveaway is the fourth charity event this year for Wireless Zone. It has also sponsored a pet adoption event at Live and Let Live Farm in Chichester, a golf tournament which raised money for woman and children in dangerous situations, and sponsored banners for sports teams and other initiatives. The store is also planning a few more things later this year.

"We're always trying to get out there and give back," Broshanan said.

The Culture of Good initiative hopes to give away more than 235,000 backpacks in 2019.

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