Southwire’s 2019 Back to School (BTS) event has been a huge success, generating more record-breaking numbers than ever before.

Once all schools are back in session, 24 of Southwire’s giving back communities will have participated in the annual BTS event, with more than 1,350 volunteer hours distributing 25,500 bags full of school supplies to local communities across North America.

West Georgia celebrated BTS's 15^th Anniversary by hosting their event in a new location – On the Square in Carrollton, GA. The new site proved to be a huge success, resulting in 29 sponsorships, 45 tents with giveaways and information for the participants, 75 volunteers putting in over 300 volunteer hours and 4,200 bags given to the community. After the event, supplies were also delivered to local schools during Open Houses in the following weeks, totaling 5,500 bags distributed in the West Georgia and East Alabama area alone.

“I can’t begin to express how much we appreciated the incredible embrace we received from the west Georgia community this year during our 15^th Annual Back to School celebration,” said Kersha Cartwright, Southwire’s Project GIFT coordinator. “Moving to Adamson Square emphasized the importance of joining together to support education, and the addition of so many resources and critical sponsors this year provided even more for the boys and girls in this community.”

 

Southwire’s volunteers in Bremen, Ind. also decided to change their approach this year. In the past, supplies were distributed directly to local schools, but this year, Project GIFT volunteers hosted the event at the Bremen Farmer’s Market. Between the event and their follow up distribution to schools, Bremen’s 26 Blackshirt volunteers gave approximately 1,500 bags to children in need.

 

Douglas, GA and their 35 Project GIFT volunteers handed out 2,000 bags in their community’s 10^th Anniversary BTS event, with more than 15 sponsors supporting the event through giveaways and donations. One sponsor, Covenant Church, generously donated an additional 2,000 bookbags that were also distributed.

 

 

Rather than hosting an event, volunteers in Lafayette, IN donated 200 bags of supplies to the YWCA Greater Lafayette. These bags were shared with students dealing with domestic violence who came to the YWCA for help.

 

 

 

Mississauga, Ontario’s Back-to-School event gave out 1,000 bags of supplies at two different locations. They donated 250 bags to the Peel Youth Village supporting low-income, transitional families and participated in a local police-sponsored BBQ to hand out 750 bags in a neighborhood with a high population of newcomers, single mothers and those living below the standard Canadian income level.

 

Southwire’s Sumner Manufacturer in Houston, TX donated 2,000 bags and backpacks to the Cy-Fair Helping Hands organization to distribute to the schools through the support of 30 Project GIFT volunteers.

This year Southwire is proud to have two new communities join the Back to School efforts by hosting their first giveaway events – DCN in Youngsville, NC and Hayesville, NC.

 

DCN, a recently acquired business by Southwire, partnered with United Way to give out 500 bags of supplies during their BTS event. They also sponsored to the development of a local STEAM lab – which promotes learning initiatives for children through Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

 

 

 

This was Hayesville’s second time as a BTS participant, but their first time hosting the efforts to give bags of supplies to the community. They partnered with the Fort Hembree Baptist Church at the Clay County Rec Center where their seven volunteers distributed 1,400 bags.

Southwire is ecstatic about the success generated in this year’s Back to School event. All of these contributions support Project GIFT’s purpose to help build stronger communities and reflect the true definition of Project GIFT: Giving Inspiration for Tomorrow.

Back-to-School events were also held in:

Calgary, California, Denton, El Paso, Florence, Heflin, Garvin, Huntersville, Kentucky, Mineral Wells, Starkville, Sumner, Tecate, Honduras, Watteredge/Avon Lake, Waukegan, and York.

For more Southwire news, please stay tuned to southwire.com/newsroom.