What’s better than a shiny, new backpack filled with school goodies? One that’s packed with care, kindness, and a sprinkle of magic! Recently some of our incredible DayMakers turned back-to-school stress into back-to-school success with our heartwarming ‘Backpack Scheme’.
A passion to make a difference
It all started with Claire, who spotted a problem, which was nearly 48% of children in Manchester were living in poverty last year, and many teachers were dipping into their own pockets to keep classrooms running. This didn’t sit right with her, so she decided to do something about it.
Her idea? A backpack drive filled with school essentials, designed to help kids feel confident and ready to learn while easing the burden on educators. And because we love a little friendly competition, we turned it into a ‘Backpack Showdown’, complete with a chocolate hamper for the winning team! (Spoiler: the real winners were the kids, but who says no to chocolate?)
Connecting with the community
Researching Manchester’s most poverty-stricken areas, Claire came across Manchester City Council’s education strategy and emailed the Director of Education with her pitch for the ‘Backpack Scheme’. The email made its way to Marie, the Education Business Partner for Schools, who teamed up with Claire to identify schools where these backpacks would make the biggest impact. With their guidance, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work!
Over a few weeks, we rallied our building occupiers to donate stationery, backpacks, and other goodies. The result? Eight fully stocked backpacks (plus extra supplies) were delivered to schools like St. Augustine’s in Miles Platting, St. Wilfrid’s Primary, and St. Chad’s Primary. The cherry on top? The kids themselves got to judge the backpacks! Seeing their excitement as they dug into the supplies was priceless.
St. Wilfrid’s Primary School commented: “Our year 6 girls were extremely grateful for all the supplies and thought it was tremendously generous. They said that the gifts were colourful and fun. People had thought about picking very child-focused things, so not just a boring pencil sharpener but a pig-shaped sharpener!”
St. Chad’s Primary were also very grateful for the donations saying: “We very much appreciate this kind of assistance and want to thank you profusely for your support. It makes a big difference to some children, thank you!”
Extending the initiative
Then our amazing London team caught wind of the Manchester magic and set up their own donation stations, rallied their communities, and packed backpacks with as much care and fun as Manchester did. After two weeks of collecting, the team delivered the supplies to Charles Dickens School in Southwark.
Micheal Eggleton, Head Teacher of the Charles Dickens School in London said: “We’re ever so grateful for the kind donations. The children have absolutely adored them. You’ve made them so happy.’
This experience reminded us that even small acts of kindness can create ripples of positivity. And honestly, we’re just getting started! With such amazing support, we’re already dreaming up ways to make next year’s drive even bigger and better.
Claire said: “I wanted to find a way to help both the children enjoy school more and take the pressure off staff, so I thought I would set up a challenge and ask the occupiers to fill backpacks with back-to-school essentials for donation to local underprivileged Manchester schools. The fact it spread to other sites across the country is unbelievably heartwarming as I never imagined it being elevated to the scale it was. I feel very grateful that I could be part of such a meaningful initiative, and I hope it gets bigger and bigger every year!”
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated, spread the word, or helped make this initiative a success. Here’s to making the back-to-school season brighter, one backpack at a time.
