Prince George’s County Public Schools gave backpacks to families in need during their annual Back-To-School Drive and Dash donation event Saturday morning.
This year’s Drive and Dash event was sponsored by the Excellence in Education Foundation for PGCPS in collaboration with several different community partners.
“We have high-energy volunteers, a lively crowd and lots and lots of backpacks!” exclaimed Raven Hill, PGCPS Assistant Superintendent for Communications & Community Engagement.
Hill says this year, there were even more reasons to celebrate the event.
“Usually, we are able to give away around 10,000 backpacks at the annual Drive and Dash,” Hill said. “But this year, through the generosity of community partners, we are able to give away 20,000.”
She said community partners donated around $97,000 to make it all possible, adding that it’s incredibly important to the district to make sure students start off the school year with the tools they need for success.
“We know the cost of everything is going up, and school supplies are no exception, so we are just thankful that we have so much support from what we called the PGCPS village,” the assistant superintendent said.
The growing need for school supplies was also met by Eye Rise, a recreational facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland, that hosted a back-to-school supply giveaway and free barbecue at their Hillmeade Road location on Saturday.
Hill said they couldn’t be more excited for the start of the school year on Aug. 28 and that anyone interested in donating more supplies should visit the public school system’s website.
She says business partners interested in adopting a school can also contact Partnerships@pgcps.org.
