MANCHESTER, NH – To help area school children get a great start to the 2021-2022 academic year, The Queen City Rotary Club and The Hooksett Area Rotary Club are teaming up for “Gear Up for School.”
“Gear Up for School is a backpack drive focusing on bringing together the community (and specifically kids) to assemble 3,000+ backpacks filled with school supplies to distribute to other kids in the community,” said Queen City Rotarian Ken Yie, one of the event organizers. “Our club is excited to work with our friends at the Hooksett Area Rotary Club on this great project.” Yie explained that the two clubs are looking for volunteers to assemble the backpacks, which will be distributed to kids in the Manchester, Hooksett, and surrounding Southern NH town school systems.
On Saturday, August 14th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will gather at Memorial High School in Manchester to fill the backpacks. “All ages and abilities are welcome to volunteer,” Yie said. “We encourage kids and their parents/guardians to be involved in the effort, there’s a role for everyone!”
To sign up to help, please use this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094EABAC22A1FA7-gear
Yie noted that in addition to volunteers being recruited to help fill the backpacks, the community can also take part by purchasing needed supplies via Amazon.
To view and purchase supplies from the Amazon Wishlist, please click here.
“This event is a great opportunity for kids to pack backpacks that will be going to other kids, inspiring volunteering and community service from a young age,” said Aaron Telage, president of the Hooksett Area Rotary Club. “At the assembly event, volunteers will take an empty backpack down an assembly line and fill it with school supplies. The filled backpacks will be distributed by school systems, nonprofits, and partner agencies to families in need.
Both Telage and Yie thanked the event’s primary sponsors – HarborOne Mortgage and HarborOne Bank.