Thanks to all of our community parnters who supported us with booth, table and promotional sponsorships as well – the Emmis family of stations (93WIBC, 1070 The Fan, B105 and Hank FM), WTHR-13, Complete Office Supply, Adrian Orchards, Two Men and a Truck, Huntington Bank, ComedySportz, Cartridge Specialists INK, Graphicon, Unique Home Solutions, the American Legion, Avon, HVAF and Indy Custom Cornhole. Bandwagon put on a great show, too!

And thanks to our community for coming out and putting those lunch dollars to work for a good cause! If you’d like to learn more (or buy one of those great t-shirts) about our programs that support our neighbors struggling with homelessness and abuse, go to HomelessnessBites.org

Major Amick was all smiles accepting the donation saying, “times are every bit as challenging as they were last year, so it’s exciting to see the community rise up to help us reach out to IPS schoolchildren and give them the tools they need and the hope to succeed.”

In fact, in this its second year partnering with The Salvation Army, Huntington has more than doubled the backpack donation to Indianapolis schoolchildren. In fact, this year, The Salvation Army will distribute about 600 more backpacks than in 2009. Those backpacks, provided by Big Lots Inc. at a significantly reduced rate to Huntington Bank will be packed along with donated school supplies and given to children at Salvation Army community centers as well as the Women’s and Children’s Shelter and at least one IPS elementary school.  

Huntington knows how much of a financial strain school supplies can put on a family. Prior to each school year, Huntington Bank releases their annual Backpack Index to access the impact that the cost of school supplies and extracurricular activities has on families. According to the 2010 Index, it costs parents about $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students to return to the classrooms. “Providing school supplies to Indiana children in need is a large part of what the Huntington Backpack Index is all about,” said Huntington Bank Central Indiana President Mike Newbold. “We not only want to call attention to the costs to send a child back to school prepared to learn, but also help out families who are having a difficult time making ends meet.”

The Salvation Army would like to thank Huntington Bank and Big Lots Inc. for their partnership.

According to Huntington Bank’s 2010 Backpack Index, the average cost for a family to send a child to elementary school (with all the school recommended supplies and necessary clothing) is about $475. With the first days of school quickly approaching, parents are no doubt feeling the pressure of providing new shoes, back packs and school supplies. But, thanks to the generosity of long time Salvation Army donor, Mrs. Laura Lewis, 120 children are set to go.

Mrs. Lewis, who is now 94 years old, has provided shoes for children through The Salvation Army for five years. Mrs. Lewis grew up as an orphan, never having the luxury of new shoes for school. After enjoying a prosperous life together with her husband she wanted to give back to kids who may be less fortunate. Kalvin Henderson, proud recipient of Mrs. Lewis’ gift said, “I think she’s real nice and someone should be doing something nice for her too. I’d have to save my money for a long time to get shoes like this.”

Jo Ann Remender, Planned Giving Director for The Salvation Army says, “It’s not just meeting a physical need for these kids, it’s meeting an emotional need too. It’s preparing them for that first day of school, so they feel like they have all the necessary tools they need to be successful.”

Thanks again to Mrs. Lewis for her generous donation and to the team at the Lafayette Road Shoe Carnival for hosting the event.

Each of us have the means to make a difference in our community by giving of our time and resources. If you’re interested in helping your neighbors in need through The Salvation Army, give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

She sniffled back tears of joy, hugging each one of us, as a couple of her staff wheeled carts of backpacks into the school. Over 300 of the children in her school would go home with backpacks that night.

This kind of generosity makes a huge impact on the lives of the students, staff and families of School 79. And we couldn’t have done it without our partners at Huntington Bank. Because of their generosity and the willing participation of Big Lots and Meijer, we can help a principal give her students the tools they’ll need to succeed this year.

If your business or organization would like to give back to your community, give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

Huntington's President Mike Newbold and Major Dick Amick team up to get backpacks to kids in need in time for school.

Thanks to our friends at Huntington Bank, hundreds of children will have the tools they need to start school next week. Huntington’s President, Mike Newbold, presented 450 backpacks and supplies to Major Amick this morning. He shared, “Huntington is committed to helping families save, budget and spend wisely, but we wanted to do more. We’re proud to say we have 1,000 backpacks and school supplies to give here in Indianapolis.”

Huntington teamed up with Big Lots and Meijer to set a goal to help 100,000 children in need in the communities they serve. Major Amick proudly accepted the backpacks saying, “Certainly as parents are struggling to provide housing and necessities, school supplies slip down the list of priorities. It’s our challenge and our priviledge to come alongside them and give them encouragement. These backpacks will do just that for hundreds of families and we couldn’t do that without our partners at Huntington Bank.”

These backpacks will be distributed to kids who’ve attended our daycamps throughout the summer as well as kids staying at our homeless and domestic violence shelters. We will also be coordinating our efforts with co-recipients, Mashariki Jywanza (IPS Bridges to Success program) and Maggie McFarlin (Backpack Attack) to make certain that families who are struggling in this economy have one less burden this August.

If your business or organization would like to help families in need right here in our community, call Kristen at 224-1019.