Free school supplies and backpacks for kids in need with the help of the Backpack Fund

By Mary Malik

Don’t know what you were doing at 20 years old, but I certainly wasn’t starting a charity with the goal of ensuring that kids have access to the school supplies and scholarships needed for their education.

Matt Parsons, president of The Backpack Fund, was doing just that in 2020 and continues the mission today with two of the original four students who founded The Backpack Fund in 2020. These recent college graduates, along with volunteers and financial donors, are showing kids it’s okay to keep dreaming and there are people willing to help you along the way.

In the summer of 2020, the middle of a global pandemic, these 2018 Riverside High School in Lake County graduates understood that this was a time when many people could benefit from a little help.

“I always wanted to create my own charity and scholarship someday,” says Matt. “I never dreamed it would be this soon but that’s a big part of the fund’s mission. We want to show these kids that whatever dreams they may have can be achieved.”

The group decided backpacks and school supplies were good things to target because they fill immediate needs for families but also represent more than just the supplies.

“This is a real way to show these kids that someone believes in them,” says Matt. “And the smiles we see on the faces of the kids and tears in their parents’ eyes when they get these backpacks makes it worth every hour of work spend to make this all happen.”

For Matt and his friends, offering a scholarship was personal. The Backpack Fund’s director of technology, Charlie Ringler, lost his sister, Emily, to cancer in 2019. Matt, Charlie and communications director Noah Levy decided that along with the backpacks, The Backpack Fund would offer an annual $1,000 scholarship in Emily Ringler’s name to a deserving college student.

“Emily fought her disease with strength, positivity and a loving family by her side,” says Matt. “We are proud to now have three recipients of the Emily Ringler Memorial Scholarship who are using that money however they see fit in order to enhance their education and realize their own dreams.”

The Backpack Fund has raised more than $18,000 in the past two years and distributed more than 1,200 backpacks filled with all the school essentials including pencils, pens, highlighters, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, notebooks, folders and more through their Backpack Supply Drop events.

“The Backpack Fund Supply Drop will take place on Saturday, August 13, when we load up a school bus with our donations and choose three or four convenient locations to distribute them to kids and families,” says Matt. “There are no qualifications or registration necessary to receive the backpacks and any extras are donated directly to local schools.”

Matt says hundreds of volunteer hours go in to the supply drop events and volunteers and financial donations are always needed and appreciated.

“The supply drops are emotional days filled with excitement, laughter, and gratitude,” says Matt. “Our hope is to get bigger each year, offer more scholarships and continue helping more kids realize their dreams.”

For more information on drop off sites for Saturday, August 13, or the Emily Ringler Memorial Scholarship, and to support The Backpack Fund, follow them on Facebook and Instagram and check the website TheBackpackFundOhio.com. Be sure to check the “Impact” page for how the fund is benefitting the community. The Backpack Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and any donations are tax-deductible.