The Women's Centre of York Region's Back to School Backpack drive is in its 11th year. The Backpack drive supports women attending programs or counselling at the centre who are returning to school, as well as their children. Many of our clients are low and moderate income residents of York Region whoa re mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, friends, neighbors , and coworkers. The majority of women that seek our help are women who have experienced violence, have limited income, have low participation rates in the labour market, or experience other barriers that make it difficult for them to contribute to their communities and live their lives to their fullest potential.
Many of our clients struggle meaking ends meet and often cannot afford back to school items. Our Back to School Backpack program ensures that all children and adult learners hav access to the tools they need to be successful in school, and ensure that they start their year with dignity. Each age appropriate backpack is estimated to cost about $40.
We begin taking names and ages for the program in late June and distribute the backpacks in late August.
In 2017, we were able to0 distribute 80 backpacks to 9 clients and 71 children as follows: 9 for JK/SK; 17 in grades 1-3; 20 in grades 4-6; 12 in grade 7-8; and 13 in grades 9-12