As another school year comes to an end, many students are once again placing their backpacks in storage
or are discarding them entirely in anticipation of buying next fall’s latest fashion trend. Owens
Community College’s Alumni Association is once again organizing a gently used backpack drive to provide
new life for what many students consider their mobile lifeline to learning.
The Alumni Association community service endeavor, titled "Backpack to the Future," is
currently accepting gently used or new backpacks and new school supplies from area residents during the
summer months. Items collected, as part of the "Backpack to the Future" program, will be given
to low-income elementary school children throughout Northwest Ohio.
In addition to the gently-used backpacks and new backpacks, individuals can donate crayons, markers,
bottles of glue, glue sticks, colored pencils, pencils, pink erasers, school boxes, pocket folders,
marbled covered composition books and Kleenex tissues. Area residents can bring their charitable
donations to the Office of Alumni Relations on the Perrysburg Township campus and the Education Center
Atrium on the Findlay campus.
Since establishing the program in 2004, the Owens Alumni Association has given 3,399 backpacks and 62,224
school supplies to benefit disadvantaged children throughout Northwest Ohio.