Avivo Community Comes Together to Equip Students for Success

This year, more than 1300 kids in families working with Avivo went back to school with new backpacks full of school supplies, thanks to generous donors! Avivo’s 2026 Back-to-School Backpack Drive provided 1,321 backpacks filled with school supplies to children whose parents are participating in Avivo programs.

The backpacks supported students of all ages, including 753 elementary-age children and 568 middle and high school students. More than 60% of the backpacks went to children in Avivo’s employment services programs, and 250 backpacks were distributed to families Avivo serves in Central Minnesota.

According to Jenn Hamrick, Avivo’s Director of Volunteer Services, “this year’s campaign not only met every request from program participants but exceeded expectations. Avivo was able to fulfill 100% of backpack requests.” She adds that another exciting aspect was being able to provide additional backpacks for families who joined programs after the initial sign-up period had ended.

“This year’s campaign not only met every request from program participants but exceeded expectations. Avivo was able to fulfill 100% of backpack requests.”

For many parents, the support brought both practical relief and peace of mind.

“Thank you. I was getting really worried about not being able to afford school supplies. I was honestly not sure what I was going to do. This is such a blessing,” shared one program participant while receiving a backpack.

Staff members saw firsthand what the donations meant for families, especially when related to Avivo’s value of Absolute Dignity. “It is so helpful to have new items with the tags on it for the kids,” said Claude Maddox, program director at Avivo. “Then they can feel like their classmates by being able to have brand-new backpacks to start the year with.”

Photo: A family receives their backpack full of school supplies at Avivo’s Backpack Giveaway event.

The campaign was supported by more than 630 volunteer hours, from assembling backpacks and delivering supplies to helping distribute them directly to families.

One giveaway event was captured by Tim Clark, a volunteer photographer working with Avivo. It was a backpack giveaway event filled with smiling children, grateful parents, and plenty of fun.

Together, donors, volunteers, and staff helped remove a significant financial burden for families and ensured more than 1,300 students could start the school year prepared, confident, and ready to learn.

Jenn shares, “We are seeing participants across all our programs having more needs for basic need items, including back-to-school supplies. It was exciting to see returning and new donors all stepping up to help meet the increased need.”

If you or your organization is interested in supporting a key need of someone in Avivo’s programs, you can make an in-kind donation or make a financial gift to Avivo.