ROANOKE, Va. – Local organizations are making sure students have what they need to get their school year started on the right foot.
On Wednesday, Kroger and Coca-Cola teamed up to help Straight Street get backpacks to students in need.
The non-profit said at least 240 backpacks have been donated so far, and some of the donated bags will be given directly to students. The rest will go out to schools as donations.
It’s a much-needed solution to giving students what they need to start the school year off strong, but for Straight Street, they said the children’s smiles mean everything.
“There’s just a sense of that moment where there’s hope and fulfillment in their life, and the excitement from those kids who receive these backpacks ... and they throw them on their backs and carry them home with that excitement,” Derek Gordon, Team Pastor with Second Street said.
The backpacks are stuffed with non-perishable food items and other goodies that help make sure students have healthy food options in the classroom, too.