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Wilder School Success Supply Drive

Providing school supplies annually to students served by Wilder

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July 1-August 31, 2024

Through Wilder's Tools for School Success Drive, our community of supporters and partners joins us in uplifting children and their families to be ready for school success.

We want every student served by Wilder programs and services to be prepared for another year of learning and growing! By providing filled backpacks and snack packs, you can help make sure children are better equipped to start the school year with the necessities they need to stay focused in the classroom.

Our goal this year is to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to more than 2,000 students served in Wilder programs and services. 

Here’s how you can join the drive to support students served by Wilder:

  • Collect backpacks filled with school supplies.
  • Collect nutritious, ready-to-eat snack packs.
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Backpack Drive

Organize a drive to fill backpacks at your home or workplace

It’s easy to participate!  Buy supplies and backpacks, fill the backpacks and deliver them to Wilder Center. Due to space limitations, we can accept backpacks from July 15 -August 20 by appointment only.

Step 1: Buy supplies and backpacks

All supplies and backpacks should be new. Backpacks and supplies are needed for elementary, middle and high school students. Please use these lists to purchase your supplies.

Step 2: Fill the backpacks with supplies at home or at the office.

Whether you fill one backpack or 100, know that you are helping students start the school year with supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.

Step 3: Schedule an appointment to drop your filled backpacks at Wilder Center.

We can accept backpacks from July 15-August 20. A Wilder staff member will meet you at Wilder Center to accept your donations and thank you for helping create a strong community.

Check back after July 1 for a link to schedule a drop-off.

Backpack Drive Shopping List

Elementary School (Kindergarten through 5th grade)

  • 1 backpack (no wheels)
  • 4 wide-rule note books
  • 4 two-pocket folders
  • 1 box of crayons (24 count)
  • 1 box markers (10 count)
  • 1 box of colored pencils (12 count)
  • 1 box of pencils
  • 1 bag of pens (black or blue)
  • 1 pair of kids scissors (blunt edge)
  • 6 glue sticks
  • 1 pencil pouch

Middle School and High School (6th grade through 12th grade)

  • 1 backpack (no wheels)
  • 4 college ruled 1 subject notebooks
  • 4 two-pocket folders
  • 1 package of pens (blue or black)
  • 1 box of pencils
  • 1 pencil pouch
  • 1 highlighter
  • 1 box of colored pencils (12 count)

Snack Pack Drive

Organize a drive to create nutritious snack packs at your home or workplace

Step 1: Buy snacks.

one-gallon bag with popcorn, juice, cereal bar and other snacks

Each snack pack you create should have:

  • 1 container of single-serve macaroni and cheese (Kraft Easy Mac, Velveeta, Annie’s)
  • 1 fruit cup (diced pears, diced peaches, mandarin oranges)
  • 2 applesauce pouches (Go-Go Squeeze, Motts, Kirkland brands)
  • 1 bag of single-serve crackers (Cheeze-it, Goldfish, pretzels)
  • 1 granola bar (Quaker Chewy, Z-Bars, Annie’s Chewy bars)

Step 2: Pack your snack items into a 1-gallon zipper-top bag.

Place all items into a gallon-size zip top plastic bag, remove the air from the bag and seal. 

Due to common allergies, please avoid granola bars that contain nuts or peanut butter as well as sandwich style crackers with peanut butter. 

Do not include water bottles, glass containers, cookies, popcorn, or applesauce containers with foil lids.

Make as few or as many snack packs as you’d like.

Step 3: Schedule a time to drop off your snack packs at Wilder Center.

We can accept snack packs from July 15-August 31. We will meet you at Wilder Center to accept your donations and thank you for helping create a strong community. Check back after July 1 for a link to schedule a drop off. 

Contact Us

 Questions About Your Backpack or Snack Pack Drive? 

Please email advancement@wilder.org for more information about how to participate. We welcome partnerships with businesses, organizations and families that want to support our mission.

Why Backpacks and Snack Packs?

The annual School Success drive helps address equity in our schools and in our community by providing more students the tools they need to be successful. Backpacks and after-school snacks for the children and youth served by Wilder helps support parents and removes barriers so more young people have what they need to be prepared for school.

Thank you, volunteers and donors!

Your support makes the Tools for School Success Drive possible.

Group picture of Securian employees and staff from Wilder
Thanks to the volunteers who delivered and unloaded backpacks and supplies in 2023, including this group of volunteers from Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits and Wilder.
Two volunteers with backpacks at a back to school celebration
Students and families receive backpacks in a variety of ways, including distribution at a back-to-school celebration for families in our school-based mental health programs.