MILWAUKEE — United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County set a goal of providing 8,000 backpacks to students for the start of the new school year via its Backpack Coalition. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Backpack Coalition, where multiple organizations team up to bring in supplies, pack backpacks with school essentials and deliver them to students in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Ozaukee Counties. Students in Germantown can also get a backpack. The backpacks, and their contents, are free to students

  • Last year, the United Way was able to give out 7,100 backpacks through this effort

  • This year they hope to give a thousand more than that

  • To learn more about the Backpack Coalition and how the public can help, click here

The Backpack Coalition, where multiple organizations team up to bring in supplies, pack backpacks with school essentials and deliver them to students in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Ozaukee Counties. Students in Germantown can also get a backpack. The backpacks, and their contents, are free to students. 

Last year, the United Way was able to give out 7,100 backpacks through this effort.

This year they hope to give a thousand more than that.

HSA Bank is one of the companies helping make that happen.

Shay Fike volunteered with her colleagues at HSA Bank packing pencil pouches to help fill empty backpacks for families.

“I think when a student is prepared to learn," Fike said. "It is easier on the teacher and also the teacher doesn’t have to go into their own pockets to be able to purchase these items.”

According to the National Retail Federation, families are expected to spend an average of nearly $900 on school supplies, clothes, shoes and electronics, which is the second highest price tag since it started tracking these numbers. 

Fike said she is happy to give local students and teachers what they need.

“Living in Milwaukee County, I think it’s important that we are assisting parents that sometimes can’t afford school supplies and they are working really hard to provide food for their families," Fike said. "Some things they may go without so this gives them the opportunity to be able to get a free backpack and support what their child needs for the school year.”

“We couldn’t do this work without a volunteers like HSA Bank, like so many other great organizations throughout our community who come together, who pack these backpacks," said Dan Herda, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County communications director. "You think about 7,100 backpacks. That’s a lot of backpacks to put together so without these volunteers. These would never be assembled.”

For Fike, this simple gesture is about supporting her community’s future.

“Those are our next educators," Fike said. "They may be the next employee at HSA Bank. You never know but us just giving them this little bit of time can give them a whole school year of opportunity to be able to learn.”

The Milwaukee Building-Construction Trades Council is also a part of the Backpack Coalition and will help deliver the backpacks on Aug. 20. 

To learn more about the Backpack Coalition and how the public can help, click here. 

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