North Coast Church to collect filled backpacks to help North County students

FALLBROOK – Whether learning from home or at school, students are in need of school supplies. North Coast Church is hosting its annual backpack drive Saturday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon, to help local students get ready to learn from home or at school.

The filled backpacks will go to local school districts and nonprofit partners, who will distribute backpacks to students in need as well as local military families.

Last year’s backpack drive garnered more than 3,000 filled backpacks. With the help of the community and the more than 13,000 church members, organizers are aiming to surpass the success of last year’s drive.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers are not only asking for the regular school supplies but also face masks, earbuds/headphones and hand sanitizer so students are ready to learn from home or at school.

At the one-day event, the community is encouraged to drop off filled backpacks, as well as cash or check donations at any church location. Filled backpacks with the suggested school supplies are preferred; however, donations of new school supplies are welcome.

Local North Coast Church locations include 1375 S. Mission Road in Fallbrook, 32077 Community Church Drive in Pauma Valley and 2405 North Santa Fe Avenue in Vista.

To ensure the donation process is contact-free, social distance guidelines will be followed. Organizers are asking people to place their donations in their trunk. Upon arrival, attendees can pop their trunk, and volunteers will remove the donations.

With San Diego’s unemployment rate at an all-time high of 13.9%, it is more important than ever to support local students and families. Whether students are learning at home or in a classroom, school supplies are needed. The cost of supplies is an added expense to already tight family budgets. In 2019, families with students in grades one through 12 planned to spend an average of $696 on back-to-school supplies according to the National Retail Federation.

Donations for middle and high school student backpacks are in most need. Suggested items for a filled middle or high school backpack include a backpack, mechanical pencils (12 count), blue or black pens (12 count), highlighters (six count), a pencil pouch, a 2-inch binder, binder dividers, three college-rule spiral notebooks, three composition books, a USB flash drive, hand sanitizer, a face mask and earbuds/headphones.

Suggested items for a filled elementary school backpack include a backpack, pencils (12 count), pencil sharpener, erasers, crayons (24 count), washable markers (eight count), glue sticks, a pencil pouch, two wide-rule spiral notebooks, a composition book, hand sanitizer, a face mask and earbuds/headphones.

Donations will be distributed through nonprofit partners including Interfaith Community Services, North County Lifeline, Solutions for Change and Step Forward as well as school district partners including Pauma Valley and Fallbrook.

North Coast Church is a faith-based organization dedicated to actively serving the community above all else. For more information, visit

http://www.northcoastchurch.com.

Submitted by North Coast Church.