WORCESTER, Mass. - July is in the rear-view mirror and August is in full swing, meaning we're just a few weeks away from the start of the new school year.  A local nonprofit is getting area students ready to be their best in the classroom.

508 Forever Young hosted their eighth their annual backpack drive in Worcester on Saturday. What is usually a day-long festival was shortened up this year due to some unfriendly weather. But, families were still able to pick up backpacks full of school supplies like pencils, notebooks, crayons and all the necessities needed to have a good start to the year.

The group's founder Woodrow Adams, Jr. says they have been helping families from across Worcester County in the almost decade they've been hosting the event. This year, Adams and his volunteers were expecting to hand out several hundred backpacks.

"This is amazing, because every year, we want to be able to provide our children with the necessities they need to succeed in school," said 508 Forever Young founder and president Woodrow Adams, Jr. "We understand that if they're not up to par by third grade with their reading level, then they tend to fall behind and end up in the criminal system. We are trying to prevent that. That is our goal."

We're excited because we have such a great turnout and we were able to give away a lot of backpacks and a lot of kids that are smiling," said 508 Forever Young vice president Keane Tugman.

"It"s very helpful and very special for my kids," said mother of three Shabana Khan. "They get very excited when they see something like this, they get excited about the free backpacks [and] school supplies. So it's very helpful for families."

508 Forever Young says donations came from all over region, including people and businesses. Worcester Public Schools begin classes Monday, Aug. 26.