CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA | Sixty Na’amat Canada Calgary members and community volunteers will gather Sunday to prepare about 900 backpacks filled with school supplies for children entering domestic violence and homeless shelters across Calgary and southern Alberta during the coming school year.
The August 30 packing initiative marks the 29th year of Na’amat Canada Calgary’s School Supplies for Kids program, which began in 1998 and has provided backpacks and essential classroom supplies to more than 27,000 children.
Na’amat Canada’s Calgary branch says the program currently supports children staying in 20 domestic violence and homeless shelters across Calgary and southern Alberta. The organization describes the initiative as an effort to help children return to school with essential supplies, dignity and a greater sense of stability during periods of significant disruption.
The backpacks contain age- and grade-appropriate items including notebooks, pencils and other classroom necessities.
For children forced to leave their homes because of violence or homelessness, organizers say receiving a new backpack can also provide something personal at a time when much of their normal routine may have disappeared.
“The Children in Their Care Light Up”
Stephanie Sacks, chairperson of School Supplies for Kids, said shelter staff regularly tell volunteers about the effect the backpacks have on children.
“The staff from the shelters repeatedly tell us how the children in their care light up when they receive one of our backpacks with school supplies,” Sacks said.
“Our program not only equips these vulnerable children with the tools they need to succeed in school but also helps strengthen their self-esteem.”
Na’amat Canada says children arriving at shelters frequently face more than the loss of a home. Some must change schools, leave friends behind and adjust to unfamiliar surroundings with few of their own belongings.
The organization says the backpack program is designed to reduce one small but important source of uncertainty by ensuring children have the basic materials needed to resume their education.
Its national School Supplies for Kids initiative operates in several Canadian cities and is intended specifically to support children and families affected by domestic violence and housing instability.
More Than $37,000 Needed for 2026 Program
Na’amat Canada Calgary expects this year’s program to cost more than $37,000.
Funding comes from community donations, sponsorships and fundraising initiatives.
Among this year’s sources of support was a Calgary screening of the documentary Marathon Mom, which raised funds for School Supplies for Kids. Na’amat Canada’s Calgary branch promoted the screening earlier this year specifically as a fundraiser for backpacks and school supplies for children in shelters.
The program also receives support through Rogers Birdies for Kids, presented by AltaLink.
Organizers say community donors and sponsors make it possible to purchase supplies in sufficient quantities and prepare backpacks according to the needs of children at different grade levels.
Nearly Three Decades of Local Support
School Supplies for Kids began in Calgary in 1998.
Since then, more than 27,000 children staying in Calgary and southern Alberta shelters have received new backpacks through the program, according to Na’amat Canada.
The initiative’s longevity has made it one of Na’amat Canada Calgary’s signature local community programs.
The organization says that for families escaping domestic violence, entering a shelter can involve leaving home quickly with limited possessions.
Children may arrive without school supplies, familiar belongings, or the materials needed to begin at a new school.
Na’amat Canada describes the program as addressing both the practical need for classroom supplies and the emotional importance of providing children with something new that belongs specifically to them.
“Forced to leave everything behind to start a new life, these children and their mothers, often battered and traumatized, typically arrive at these shelters with little more than the clothes on their backs,” Na’amat Canada says in its description of the national initiative.
The organization says that entering a new classroom without even basic supplies can add another layer of anxiety to an already difficult transition.
Jewish Organization Serving Children of All Backgrounds
Na’amat Canada is a Jewish women’s nonprofit organization whose work includes programs supporting women, children and families in both Canada and Israel.
Its Canadian projects include School Supplies for Kids, community bursaries, toiletries programs and other local initiatives.
In Israel, Na’amat Canada supports programs including child-care and educational services, women’s rights initiatives and assistance for women escaping abusive relationships.
Although rooted in the Jewish community, the Calgary backpack program serves children regardless of religion or background.
Na’amat Canada describes its mission as empowering women and children of all faiths and denominations.
The organization is part of the wider international Na’amat movement, which traces its history to 1925.
Volunteers Turn Donations Into Backpacks
Sunday’s event will bring together Na’amat members and other community volunteers to sort supplies and assemble the backpacks for distribution to shelters.
The work is deliberately completed before the school year is fully underway so that shelters can provide backpacks to children as they arrive throughout the year.
That is an important feature of the program.
The backpacks are not distributed only during a single back-to-school event. They are intended to remain available for children who may enter shelters months later, often with little warning.
For Sacks and the volunteers, the objective is straightforward: make sure that when a child’s life is disrupted by circumstances beyond their control, returning to school does not have to begin without the most basic tools.
After 29 years and more than 27,000 children helped, Na’amat Canada Calgary will again spend one day packing supplies intended to make many difficult first days at school a little easier.
TheJ.ca receives no government money. Independent journalism depends on readers who believe these stories must be told. Please consider supporting our efforts.
Stand Proud. Stand Strong. Stand Zionist.
