How It All Began:
It all started with a single text message in 2014.
A friend of mine — a single mother of four — reached out asking for help purchasing school supplies for her children. She was living on a limited income and barely getting by. Without hesitation, I jumped into action. But I decided to take it one step further. I asked if her kids could come along so they could pick out their own supplies.
Watching those four children's faces light up as they found their favorite backpack, chose the coolest pencils, and picked out supplies that felt like theirs — it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. As a single mother myself, I understood the struggle all too well. Stretching every penny, knowing that one unexpected expense could throw everything off balance. That was my reality too.
Back-to-school shopping had always held a special place in my heart. I looked forward to it every fall as a little girl — the excitement of new folders, the smell of fresh crayons, the feeling that anything was possible in a brand new year. Realizing that so many children never get to experience that same magic hit me right at my core.
That became my mission — to make sure local kids could feel that same excitement I remembered from my childhood, one backpack at a time.
That first year, we filled 12 backpacks total. I had no idea that one simple act of helping a friend would grow into something so much bigger than I ever imagined.
Each year, the goal gets a little higher — because there are always more kids who deserve to feel that back-to-school excitement.
Here's how we've grown:
2014 — 12 backpacks (where it all began)
2015 — 20 backpacks
2016 — 25 backpacks
2017 — 32 backpacks
2018 — 132 backpacks (a huge leap forward, thanks to partnering with a local friend who also gathers and distributes supplies)
2019 — 177 backpacks
2020 — 150 backpacks
2021 — 113 backpacks
2022 — 181 backpacks
2023 — 294 backpacks
2024 — 403 backpacks
2025 — 500 backpacks (a massive milestone — and we couldn't have done it without the incredible support of the Rogers-Otsego-Dayton Women of Today Chapter. Thank you!)
From 12 backpacks to 500 in just over a decade — every single one representing a child who got to experience that magic of a brand new school year.
Growing the Mission:
For years, I continued this labor of love, steadily growing the number of children I could reach — one backpack at a time.
Then in 2022, with a little encouragement from my daughter, I decided to reach out to local Facebook groups asking for supply donations. The response was overwhelming. With the help of roughly twenty generous women from the community, we filled 181 backpacks with everything on the supply lists. It was a turning point.
In January 2023, I posted on Facebook specifically asking for backpack donations — because as anyone who has done this shopping knows, backpacks are by far the single most expensive item on the list. That post caught the attention of Christina from the Rogers-Otsego-Dayton Women of Today chapter, who reached out wanting to learn more.
As I shared my mission and goals, we realized something — after nearly nine years of doing this, I had a nameless organization on my hands. So we got to work. We needed something that felt right, something that captured the spirit of what this was all about. And just like that, The Backpack Squad was born.
Because that is exactly what it takes — a squad. A village of generous, big hearted people who show up and make the impossible possible. I could not do any of this without them.
Elk River, MN
Our Location
Elk River, Minnesota