Annual Backpack Bonanza Aims to Get Local Kids Ready for School

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission is asking valley residents to help local kids start the school year prepared, with donation boxes set up across the desert through August 3.

The mission says thousands of children in the Coachella Valley start the school year without the basic supplies they need to do homework and keep up in class. This year's Backpack Bonanza is meant to close that gap, collecting new backpacks, notebooks, pencils, crayons, and other classroom essentials before students head back to school.

Drop-off boxes went up around the valley on June 29 and will be picked up on August 4. Boxes are placed at businesses, city offices, and community spots in Cathedral City, Coachella, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Thousand Palms, and Thermal.

The mission is also accepting supplies purchased through its Amazon registry, which ships items directly to CVRM, and monetary donations both online and in person at the mission's Indio location, 47-470 Van Buren Street. Families who don't have time to shop can also ask CVRM to buy and fill a backpack on their behalf.

For families who need supplies, CVRM is holding a drive-thru giveaway event on Saturday, August 8, at 7 a.m. The event is open to all Coachella Valley residents with children ages 0 to 17, and organizers say it's first come, first served until supplies run out. Children must be present to receive a backpack.

More information, including the full list of drop-off locations and ways to donate, is available at cvrm.org/annual-events/school-supply-drive-giveaway