Indian River County Needs Donations for School Supplies

A Treasure Coast school district needs your help. The economy is taking a toll on families and making it difficult to pay for their children's school supplies. Now, the one place families turn to for help is in need of help themselves.

They're boxed up and ready to go. Filled with 1,300 backpacks, but 1,300 isn't enough. "know there is a greater need because of the economy,"Cynthia Falardeau with the Indian River County Education Foundation says the school district needs 800 more back packs. She says, "It's heartbreaking to think of a child not having school supplies so that's really a driving force behind it and we don't anticipate we will have extras left over."

Generous hearts helped the Foundation raise thousands to stuff the backpacks with pencils, paper, and markers. Now, other non-profits can't afford to pitch in and more kids are in need as the economy takes a nose dive. That puts the weight on the Foundation, "We're feeling a little bit of pressure right now, but we need the communities support cause we really want to hit this goal of 2,000 and it would be great to exceed the goal cause we know there are families out there that need our help."

The request this year from principals for the school supplies is the largest this non-profit has ever seen and one to blame on a declining economy.

The Indian River Education Foundation needs help and they need it fast. The back packs need to be ordered by the end of the month to be ready for the school year. They encourage a monetary donation. That way they can buy in bulk. To help, call the Education Foundation at 772-564-0034 or donate at any of the 5 RBC Bank locations in Indian River County. The money goes to the "backpack fund."