Volunteers pack thousands of backpacks for Chicagoland kids in need during annual initiative

CHICAGO — Hundreds of corporate volunteers gathered on the floor at Wintrust Arena on Wednesday to pack thousands of backpacks for Chicagoland kids in need as part of an annual initiative.

Cradles to Crayons held its Backpack-A-Thon, the signature event in its Ready for Learning initiative. Volunteers worked to fill 36,000 backpacks with new school supplies in just over two hours Wednesday.

“Each year that we do this, it reminds us what can be achieved when a city comes together and unites,” Dawn Melchiorre, Executive Director of Cradles to Crayons, said during Wednesday’s event.

“Volunteers from every corner of our city and suburbs, partners both old and new, all working toward one goal — ensuring that every child in the Chicagoland area begins school with the confidence, hope and joy that they need to make sure that they have a successful school year.”

There’s also some fun competition among the volunteers to see who can fill the most backpacks.

“We have so much fun coming together,” Justin Casazzn, a volunteer, said. “It’s one of those events that we can all feel good about ourselves, feel good about what we’re doing, but also just have a lot of fun and build that team spirit, that camaraderie that we love.”

Since 2016, Cradles to Crayons has provided over 100,000 Chicago Public Schools students with 1.2 million school supplies. The organization also helps with other necessities for children in Chicagoland, including new and gently-used clothes for children experiencing homelessness or low-income situations.

Cradles to Crayons has a goal of reaching 100,000 backpacks over the next few weeks.

Visit cradlestocrayons.org/chicago for more information or to see how you can help.