Calgary students got a head start on the new school year thanks to EducationMatters' annual Pack Hope Backpack Challenge. Volunteers, corporate partners, and community supporters gathered at Highfield Warehouse on August 20 to fill 2,000 backpacks with essential school supplies for Calgary Board of Education students, with the finished backpacks distributed to more than 70 CBE schools.

The campaign is meant to ease the financial pressure back-to-school costs can put on families, giving students one less thing to worry about as classes start. "A backpack filled with school supplies is about so much more than pencils, notebooks and other essentials," said Stephanie Washbrook, Executive Director of EducationMatters. "It's about making sure CBE students walk into their classrooms feeling prepared, confident and included. No child should have to worry whether they have the supplies they need to learn."

CBE Chief Superintendent Joanne Pitman echoed that sentiment, saying every student deserves a fair shot at starting the year on equal footing with their peers, and thanked the donors and volunteers who made the initiative possible.