This summer, the Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) community came together to help more than 1,400 students across Northern Virginia start the school year prepared with backpacks and essential supplies through its annual Back2School & Beyond Drive.
Each year, the Back2School & Beyond Drive brings donors, volunteers, businesses, sponsors, and community partners from across the region to step up in a big way by donating thousands of school supplies, making financial contributions, hosting collection drives, and giving their time to sort and pack backpacks for local students.
This year was another strong year of community support, with more than 1,400 backpacks packed and distributed to students and families across Northern Virginia, made possible by the incredible generosity of individuals, businesses, organizations, and volunteers.
By the Numbers
Together, the NVFS community:
- Provided more than 1,400 with backpacks and essential supplies
- Raised over $40,000 to support the campaign
- Received 20,766 donated school supply items
- Brought together 230 volunteers
- Over 50 organizations hosted school supply drives across Northern Virginia
For weeks, donated supplies arrived from individuals, businesses, and organizations throughout the region. Volunteers sorted thousands of items and packed backpacks before they were distributed by case managers to students across Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, Loudoun County, and Prince William County, including the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
For families already navigating the rising costs of housing, groceries, transportation, and everyday needs, purchasing everything on the back-to-school list can create an additional financial strain.
“Many working families in our region live paycheck to paycheck, and the annual cost of school supplies is an added expense and stressor to their budget,” said Kathleen McMahon, Executive Vice President, Development & Communications. “NVFS’s goal is to relieve this burden on families.”
The campaign was made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor Amazon Web Services (AWS), along with the many businesses, organizations, and individuals.
"Amazon is proud to support Northern Virginia Family Services and their Annual Drives, which provide critical resources to our neighbors in need, said Colin Sollitt, Amazon Community Engagement Manager. “For more than 20 years, Amazon has been committed to strengthening the Virginia communities where our employees live and work. Our partnership with NVFS demonstrates that enduring commitment and helps ensure local families are supported."
NVFS extends its sincere gratitude to every donor, volunteer, sponsor, and community partner who helped make this year's campaign a success. Together, their generosity is creating brighter futures for children and families across Northern Virginia.
For more information on our Seasonal Giving campaigns visit this page.
