CENTRAL FLORIDA — Next month, hundreds of volunteers will assemble at the Orange County Convention Center to assist in preparing thousands of Central Florida students for the new school year.
The annual Great Big Backpack Build, organized by A Gift for Teaching, will take place Thursday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the convention center’s West Concourse Hall C.
During the event, corporate volunteers will collaborate to assemble 30,000 backpacks filled with essential school supplies for students throughout the region. Organizers anticipate that this year’s event will be the largest backpack-building effort in the program’s history.
The backpack drive serves students attending high-need public schools throughout Central Florida.
According to A Gift for Teaching, over 70% of local public schools are classified as high-need, which puts many students at risk of beginning the school year without essential classroom supplies.
The organization states that the yearly initiative is designed to provide students with the necessary tools to start the school year prepared to learn.
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