The Chesapeake Supplies Nearly 60 Kids with Back-to-School Gear
As kids, teachers and parents prepared for back-to-school, residents and team members at The Chesapeake prepared to ensure students had the supplies they needed to succeed in the classroom. Residents and team
members raised money to purchase school supplies and backpacks tailored to elementary, middle or high school students for team members’ children.
In early September, members of the resident services team purchased items. A group of volunteers gathered to stuff the backpacks. Once complete, the bags were distributed to parents for their child or children the week before school started.
The community raised nearly $1,400 from 32 donors. Seven volunteers spent a collective of 21 total volunteer hours on the project. Volunteers stuffed 56 backpacks with notebooks, pens, paper, markers, pencils, pens, and folders for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students.
“Chesapeake residents and team members recognize that getting ready for school each year can be a costly event. Because we interact, care and support each other as family, we decided to take action,” said Executive Director David Loop. “The backpack initiative takes care of school supplies, equating to $50 or more per child, allowing parents to focus on new school clothes or shoes.”
The Chesapeake began the Back-to-School Backpack Event in 2019. Since then, nearly 140 team members’ children have received backpacks.
This story was originally published in LifeSpire of Virginia’s 2021 Annual Report. The full digital magazine is available online.