FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For 20 years the Big Backpack event has been helping families by providing essentials to get kids ready to go back to school.
“Our first event had about 100 people at it, now we give away about 2,000 to 2,500 backpacks a year so it’s grown exponentially,” said Ronda Amaya, the Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida.
The Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida has been planning all year long for the event to provide, not only school supplies for kids ages 5 to 12, but also, “free haircuts, a lot of vendors with freebie giveaways, food, there’s entertainment, games."
Hundreds of volunteers helped in assisting kids to get ready for school.
“It helps the folks in our community with economic challenges," said Amaya.
And back-to-school supplies can add up. According to the national retail federation, parents will spend $26.2 billion dollars on back-to-school items for kids in grades K-12.
Broken down that equals about $240 per kid on supplies alone.
