Posted by: Youth Villages
from: Technology needs for local youth for Backpack Heroes
Youth Villages in quest of providing school supplies and technology for children receiving care
in Middle Tennessee
Regardless of what the new school year looks like, Youth Villages is preparing to give more than 1,400 children and
young people, receiving services in Middle Tennessee, the supplies and technology support they need to go back-to-school.
Traditionally, the Backpack Heroes program collects new backpacks and school supplies for children, who have experienced trauma or have a history of emotional or behavioral health issues, to be prepared to start the new school year. Due to the pandemic, the program will additionally provide technology needs, including laptops, tablets, and internet hotspots, to ensure these children can be successful in school, no matter where the learning takes place.
“Laptops continue to be a huge need for our older kids going to college,” said Greg Schott, Assistant Director of Development. “It is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity for school and for getting a job when applications and interviews are
all being done online. We want to make sure our young people, who have experienced foster care, have the tools they need to be successful.”
The program will serve youth in all countries in Middle Tennessee out of their offices in Nashville, Clarksville, Cookeville, Columbia, and Dickson.
Individuals or groups, such as businesses, civic groups, or church congregations, may participate by donating to the program. Most of the donations will help provide new laptops to the young people aging out of foster care and transitioning into college, currently the program’s biggest need.
“Back-to-school time is a stressful time for our children, families, and young people starting college, especially mid-pandemic, and our goal is to help elevate the stress as much as possible by providing the supplies they need to help them be prepared for the new school year,” Schott said.
Youth Villages will be accepting donations to the program all year long as children continue to come into their care and need a backpack during the school year.
For more information about being a Backpack Hero, visit: https://www.youthvillages.org/get-involved/events/backpack-heroes/middle-tennessee-backpack-heroes/ or contact Lyndsay Wilkinson at Lyndsay.Wilkinson@youthvillages.org.
submitted by: Lyndsay Wilkinson