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High school students can build a backpack for free this August

The Build-a-Backpack Drive, held Aug. 5 at St. Johns MMC, 4 N. Blount St., is for any high school student or rising high school student who could use some help with back-to-school supplies this year.

Posted 2023-06-28T20:08:42+00:00 - Updated 2023-06-29T12:41:01+00:00

Build-A-Backpack Drive helps NC high school students

Jessica Patrick

, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

In April, local high school students were able to shop for a free prom dress. This summer, they can fill a backpack for the upcoming school year.

The Build-a-Backpack Drive, held Aug. 5 at St. Johns MMC, 4 N. Blount St., is for any current or rising high school student who could use some help with back-to-school supplies this year.

The event is organized by the I Am Worth It Foundation, a Raleigh-based college scholarship fund founded last year by Jennifer Payne, a working mom of two.

The first Build-a-Backpack drive was the I Am Worth It Foundation's founding event, raising $4,500 in supplies and providing backpacks for dozens of students.

Payne and co-organizer Amanda Powell hope this year's event can double the impact.

The backpack drive will also be more of a "shopping" experience for participants. Last year, backpacks were pre-assembled for high schoolers. This year the students will get to choose and fill their own backpack, picking school supplies that fit their needs -- and personalities.

"I think that when it comes to getting excited about the school year those little things really do matter," Payne said. "I'm really excited for the fact that they get to come and pack the backpacks themselves and pick the items that they get most excited about for the year to come ... it has more of a similar feeling to when they go to the store and pick out the items themselves."

Payne worked with high school social workers to see what supplies were most needed in Wake and Durham counties.

"We hope to give them a shopping experience that they might not otherwise be able to get," Powell said.

How to help

The I Am Worth It Foundation will accept donations of school supplies through July 31. The event will be held Aug. 5 between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Amazon wishlist is available online. Most needed items include Post-It notes, Crayola markers and colored pencils, Elmer's school glue, pencil pouches, index cards, folders and notebooks, dividers, binders, rulers, tape, composition notebooks, college-ruled notebook paper, pens and pencils and, of course, backpacks. Monetary donations can also be made online.

"The more donations we have, the bigger and better we can make this event," Payne said.

Donations can be dropped off at the following locations during business hours:

MCC St. John's, 4 N. Blount St., Raleigh
O2 Fitness - all Triangle locations (Carrboro, Holly Springs, Chapel Hill, Morrisville, Durham and in Raleigh at Seaboard Station, Falls of Neuse Road and Brier Creek).
Bungalow Hair Shop, 229 Bickett Blvd., Raleigh
Pineapple Sol, 302 Colonades Way, Cary
ReVive at the Ridge, 3408 Oakridge River Road, Fuquay-Varina
Burn Boot Camp - Holly Springs, 158 W. Holly Springs Road
Plexus (inside Common Desk Coworking Space), 2020 Progress Court, Raleigh
Greene Resources, 6601 Six Forks Road, Suite 440, Raleigh
Z-Fit, 2921 Wakefield Crossing, Unit 116, Raleigh

The I Am Worth It Foundation is looking for more companies and individuals willing to host school supply drives. Payne also wants to get word of the event out to as many high school families as possible.

"So many people want to help [others] but they don't necessarily know how to help," Payne said. "We're really just trying to make that easy for them."