This year many Riverside County students headed back to school by mid-August. To help the students start the school year off with needed supplies, the 11th Annual Backpack Drive started early this year. The annual event is organized by an interagency group in conjunction with the Stand for Children Committee of Riverside County. The Stand for Children Committee members are from the Riverside County Office of Education, Riverside County Department of Mental Health and Community Settlement Association.

The expense of outfitting children with the needed supplies each fall can be overwhelming to many families. Thanks to the efforts of employees at RCOE, this over 300 children and youth will have a better school year with a new back pack and school supplies. Fund-raising efforts brought in over $1,200 to fund backpacks and school supplies.

The following are suggestions for needed items:

K-3rd Grade – small/regular backpack, pencils, zipper binder pocket, wide ruled paper, large crayons, washable markers, 2 primer writing tablets, glue stick or glue, erasers, pencil sharpener

4th – 6th Grade – sturdy backpack, pencils, black pens, ruler, folders, binder, erasers, binder pocket, glue stick, narrow ruled paper, markers, colored pencils, binder dividers, dictionary

Middle School – sturdy backpack, pencils, colored pencils, black pens, ruler, protractor, folders, binder, erasers, binder pocket, glue sticks, highlighters, calculator, binder dividers, , narrow ruled paper, dictionary and thesaurus

High School – sturdy backpack, pencils, colored pencils, black pens, ruler, protractor, folders, binder, erasers, binder pocket, highlighters, calculator, binder dividers, narrow ruled paper, dictionary and thesaurus

RCOE employees helped by:

Bringing any of the suggested items to the collection boxes that were placed throughout the RCOE main, Murrieta, and Indio offices.
Making a cash donation to RCOE Children’s Services Unit. Donations are tax deductible, and a receipt was provided upon request.

Contact Marilyn Yaeger or Lonnie Waring at (951) 826-6626 for more information.

On behalf of the children of Riverside County, we thank you for your support.

For information contact:
Rick Peoples, Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199
rpeoples@rcoe.us