To help students prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, Kinecta Federal Credit Union hosted its 14th Annual Back-to-School Backpack Drive distributing 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in need from grades three to 12. With inflation continuing to put a strain on parents and the cost of school supplies increasing 23.7% in the past two years, many parents are planning to pull back on back-to-school shopping this year, spending $597 per child, a 10% decrease from last year. This is a significant financial burden for families with limited resources, making this year's event even more important for families.

Kinecta launched its first Backpack Drive in 2010 and has since helped nearly 7,000 students receive much-needed school supplies. Last year's backpack drive enabled Kinecta to provide more than 846 children with backpacks containing school supplies. As part of the event, the credit union also served breakfast and lunch to over 2,000 school faculty and administrators in the area as a show of appreciation.   

"For 14 years and counting, our annual back-to-school drive isn't just an event — it's a statement about how much we care about the communities we serve," said Executive Director of the Kinecta Community Foundation, Latrice McGlothin. "With so much support, we were able to provide students not only the essentials but also that extra mental support for a successful school year."