Backpacks event to benefit K-12 students
COVINGTON, Ky. – If your school-aged children need supplies for the coming school year, Northern Kentucky Harvest can help you out.
The non-profit has 1,008 backpacks containing paper, pens and pencils, and other supplies to give out to K-12 students – it just needs to know who to give them to.
The organization is asking parents to register by the end of the month via email, text, or phone call for a distribution event Aug. 14-15.
In past years, Northern Kentucky Harvest distributed the supplies during a “Backpacks and Breakfast” event in Covington’s Goebel Park. But with the pandemic, it’s adopting the same drive-thru format as last year.
“We know there are still a lot of people out there hurting financially, so we’re hoping we can connect with some of them and help them a little bit,” said Paul Gottbrath, board president of Northern Kentucky Harvest.
The distribution is now in its 21st year. It started out with about 150 backpacks and has grown to average 900 to 1,000, with more than half of those families from Covington, Gottbrath said.
How it works
- To register, parents should send information via email to backpacks@beconcerned.org, text at (859) 750-2813, or a phone call to the same number.
- The deadline to register is 5 p.m. July 31.
- The information needed is the parent or guardian’s name, the city they live in, email address and phone number, as well as the student’s name, the school they will attend during the 2021-22 school year, and the grade they will be in (since supplies differ by grade level). Students need to go to school in Kenton, Boone, or Campbell counties.
- The week of Aug. 9, parents/guardians will receive a text or email with a pickup time.
- On Aug. 14 or 15, someone needs to come to the parking lot outside Be Concerned: The People’s Pantry at 1100 Pike St., Covington, to pick up the backpacks.
- If more than 1,008 students are registered, “winners” will be chosen by random drawing.
The backpacks also contain a gift certificate for a free kids’ meal from Frisch’s. The event is presented annually by Northern Kentucky Harvest in collaboration with Be Concerned and the Brighton Center. Funding is provided by foundations, churches, and businesses.
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