By Arianna Hooker
The East Hillsborough Community Resource Group, along with key agencies Hope for Her and ECHO of Brandon, will bring Backpack Hero Day to the area. Hope for her and ECHO of Brandon have made a joint effort to run the back-to-school event as one agency.
Backpack Hero Day will include backpack giveaways with needed school supplies, food trucks, a bike giveaway from Bikes For Christ, door prizes, free eye exams from the Lions Club, kids’ games and live entertainment.
Backpack Hero Day is a day where families in need can come and receive school supplies and other needed resources for their children going back to school. All school-age children, from kindergarten to 12th grade, are eligible for the event.
Hope for Her and ECHO of Brandon’s goal is to ensure that, moving forward, other agencies will join this event to avoid having multiple back-to-school events. This way, several businesses can come together to serve the same families in need.
“We are here to assist and help families in need,” said Myriam Lugo, the development manager of ECHO of Brandon. “Our goals are to educate the parents of the resources in the community and provide back-to-school resources.”
The community is helping with giving the needed resources so they can be provided to the families.
Registration for the Backpack Hero Day event is required. Registration opened on June 20 and lasts until Friday, July 15. Hope for Her and ECHO of Brandon are hoping that by the end of the Backpack Hero Day event, more organizations will want to get involved for next year’s Backpack Hero Day.
With the two organizations making this joint effort, they provide more agencies the opportunity to get involved together for the final goal of having one big event instead of multiple to help serve the community to assist those in need.
Backpack Hero Day will be held on Saturday, July 23 from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Bay Life Church, located at 1017 Kingsway Rd. in Brandon. For more information, visit www.baylife.org/backpack.
Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are open for Backpack Hero Day. For volunteer and sponsorship opportunities and registration, visit www.bphero.org.
