{"id":2321,"date":"2021-09-02T12:34:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T12:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T11:28:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:28:24","slug":"backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Backpack Program Boosts Self-Confidence and Promotes Inclusion in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

In many locations across Canada, The Salvation Army is stuffing backpacks with school supplies to ensure that every elementary and high-school student is empowered to succeed, and struggling families have one less thing to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so nice to have a new backpack and school supplies,\u201c says Jennifer, Grade 10. \u201cIt makes me feel included and on the same level as my classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The need for supplies is increasing\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Jennifer is one of more than 50 children and youth receiving a backpack at The Salvation Army in Bowmanville, Ont., this year.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cFood comes first,\u201d says Andrew Cherry, community ministries worker. \u201cIf you have a limited amount of money, you won\u2019t be buying school supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, due to the pandemic, parents have to buy additional supplies for in-class learning, such as masks, hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes. The extra financial strain may mean their children won\u2019t arrive at school well-equipped to learn for some families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure every child feels they belong\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe need for supplies is increasing,\u201d says Cherry. \u201cWe want to make sure every child feels they belong and has the essentials they need for learning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The backpacks are age and grade-appropriate and filled with paper, pens, pencils, erasers, geometry sets and rulers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe backpacks are always loaded with good things,\u201d says Tim, Grade 5. \u201cAnd I love the snacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf transportation issues prevent people from picking up their backpack, we deliver it to their home,\u201d says Cherry. \u201cWe don\u2019t want anyone to be that person who comes to school the first day without a backpack and supplies. Children and youth need to have as normal a school experience as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Linda Leigh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In many locations across Canada, The Salvation Army is stuffing backpacks with school supplies to ensure that every elementary and high-school student is empowered to succeed, and struggling families have one less thing to worry about. \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to have a new backpack and school supplies,\u201c says Jennifer, Grade 10. \u201cIt makes me feel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBackpack Program Boosts Self-Confidence and Promotes Inclusion in the Classroom - The Salvation Army Ontario<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backpack Program Boosts Self-Confidence and Promotes Inclusion in the Classroom - The Salvation Army Ontario\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In many locations across Canada, The Salvation Army is stuffing backpacks with school supplies to ensure that every elementary and high-school student is empowered to succeed, and struggling families have one less thing to worry about. \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to have a new backpack and school supplies,\u201c says Jennifer, Grade 10. \u201cIt makes me feel […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Salvation Army Ontario\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-02T12:34:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-26T11:28:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/02\/Bowmanville-Backpacks-web-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"517\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SalvationArmy.ca\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SalvationArmy.ca\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SalvationArmy.ca\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/#\/schema\/person\/be56ce6a18dd19786ed68c2f0f38b7b1\"},\"headline\":\"Backpack Program Boosts Self-Confidence and Promotes Inclusion in the Classroom\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-02T12:34:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-26T11:28:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\"},\"wordCount\":291,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/02\/Bowmanville-Backpacks-web-image.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Interest\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2021\/09\/backpack-program-boosts-self-confidence-and-promotes-inclusion-in-the-classroom\/\",\"name\":\"Backpack Program Boosts Self-Confidence and Promotes Inclusion in the Classroom - 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