Back-to-School Literacy Project
School Supply Drive & Children’s Book Distribution
For over 20 years, Altrusa DFW has held our Annual School Supply Drive, providing thousands of brand new backpacks filled with all the school supplies students need to begin the school year. Altrusa DfW prides itself on our ability to successfully and quickly adapt our ongoing service projects, by pivoting to serve where the greatest needs are currently found. In 2024 Altrusa DFW not only continued to provide hundreds of stuffed backpacks, but also implemented a new service component— Book Distribution— to our Back-to-School Literacy Project specifically aimed at putting books into the hands of children in need.
School Supply Drive- Filled Backpacks
After researching and evaluating local needs, Altrusa DFW chooses a school or local social service agency(ies) as beneficiaries of our Filled Backpack program each year. We determine the best prices for backpacks and supplies, then our members coordinate to place online orders and go shopping at local stores (often needing to visit multiple stores to acquire enough supplies!). Our Club members and their families congregate to unpack and sort everything, fill the backpacks with the brand-new supplies, then deliver to the beneficiary’s location.
In each backpack, we also include a note hand-written by Altrusans, wishing them a good school year.
Book Distribution- New in 2024
In 2024, with only two weeks’ notice, we were invited to participate in Birdville ISD’s back-to-school event that is aimed at assisting families in financial need. During the year, we had cultivated strong relationships with several sources that could provide new and gently-used books to us at no cost, including retailer Half Price Books, a local church, a service organization with which one of our members is affiliated, and another local non-profit group. BISD gratefully accepted our offer to distribute 7,500 children’s books to event attendees. Altrusa DFW members and their families individually reviewed and sorted the donated books for age-appropriateness, set up the book display, and personally assisted each individual child in choosing five books at the event.
