As the school year approaches, families are starting their back-to-school shopping, and that can be a challenge as costs go up. But for families needing a little help, it’s available.
On Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m., Lerner & Rowe Gives Back — the nonprofit arm of Lerner & Rowe Injury Attorneys — is giving away 1,000 backpacks with supplies at the Yuma County Fairgrounds on 2520 E. 32nd Street.
The nonprofit traditionally holds an annual back-to-school backpack giveaway in cities throughout the U.S., including Yuma, and they’re anticipating a considerable turnout.
“We do recommend getting there with a little bit of time in advance just so that you can claim that spot in line,” said Jordan Moreno, director of charitable giving for Lerner & Rowe Gives Back. “We have a really low barrier to entry — we want to be able to just help as many families as we can — but the only thing that we ask is that the child is present in order to receive a backpack.”
The firm is also providing free treats, face painting, music and balloon twisting at the giveaway.
“We're really just trying to bring out the community and hope that families walk away feeling successful and feeling as if they are able to have a fresh start and that kids are ready to start the school year with confidence and everything that they need,” Moreno said.
She explained that the Yuma community matters to Lerner & Rowe. The firm does a lot of business with Yuma, and it’s headquartered in Arizona.
“We truly care about Arizonans and lifting Arizonans; it's part of our mission,” Moreno said. “Lerner & Rower Gives Back gives away about $2 million per year nationwide. A million of that is given to local Arizona nonprofits every year.”
As the director of charitable giving, Moreno shared she finds giveaways like this to be very rewarding, but as a mother with children heading into grade school, she can especially appreciate the kind of help a backpack giveaway can provide for families.
“If we're able to kind of alleviate just one little piece for families, be able to provide this backpack and with all of the supplies — whether it's for the younger kids with crayons and colored pencils or more for the older kids with those college-ruled notebooks and highlighters and those elements — we want to be able to do that,” she said.
Moreno added that Lerner & Rowe Gives Back hopes families will be able to take the funds they would’ve used on backpacks and supplies and use them on extracurricular activities for their kids instead.
“We want them to be successful inside the classroom, but we're hoping that this allows families to maybe do something outside the classroom as well,” she said.
The City of Yuma is also giving away backpacks in its Back to School Rodeo that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Yuma Civic Center, but families should note that these are limited to students in kindergarten through 8th grade.
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Reporting for this article is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
