Nonprofit hosts backpack giveaway
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2019 school year is just around the corner and one local nonprofit is making a new effort this year to make sure kids have supplies on day one of classes.
Advocating Children to Succeed (ACTS) is a group that focuses on putting kids back in school and in the workforce.
Over 350 kids and their families walked away with backpacks, school supplies and even clothes and it was all free.
They did it with the help of veterans at the Amvets Post 99, who opened up their building to host the event on the city’s west side.
Families were rolling in all day long to get their kids the gear they need to walk into that first day of school in style.
The program’s mission is to help fight off the negative trend of kids being put out of school in Indiana, with one out of every 14 kids that end up being expelled.
That’s higher than the national average of one out of every 16 students.
Founder Larry Brunson said that after 10 years helping young kids in the community find the path back to success, he realized that the first step to change could be– simply looking the part.
“Having everything you need for the school year, it makes you feel a part of the learning environment and willing to learn,” ACTS founder, Larry Brunson said.
ACTS mainly serves young men on a regular basis, ages 12 through 17. They use their resources to get kids back to their education and eventually into the workforce by getting them back to high school, college or trade school.
For more information on ACTS and their work with kids in the community click here