A grassroots charity was started four years ago by Pete Cross who runs the Fibernetics Contact Centre in the Dominican Republic, and John Stix, Backpacks for Kids just had its most successful day ever! Learning that kids couldn’t attend school without the proper supplies or uniforms, they two friends decided to pool some spare cash and purchase what was required – and distribute it for free to local children. It has now morphed into the Fibernetics official charity and the record number of kids who are going to get to go to class this year makes us all very proud and humbled.
This year Backpacks for Kids supplied 127 children in total: Each backpack has supplies like notebooks, pencils, erasers, glue, rulers, etc. For younger kids, they would include things like crayons and pencil crayons as well. Each child also received a gift certificate for $1000 peso which can be used toward buying their school uniform. This amount of money is enough to buy a pair of pants, a dress shirt and socks. They must be in uniform to attend school.
From Pete Cross: “I love kids. I have lived down here for 10 years, but it still pains me to see the poverty around me on an everyday basis. Kids with clothes falling off their backs or no shoes on their feet. Kids who are 7 or 8 years old forced to work in the streets either shining shoes or begging for money.”
“I have two young daughters, Zoe and Zaley. Zoe is 7 years old and is going into grade three. So I know first hand how hard it can be to get all the supplies needed to start the school year. I can’t imagine that a child would not be educated simply because they didn’t have enough money to buy pencils and erasers. There are so many very poor families in the DR, and without proper school supplies or a uniform they are not allowed to attend school.”
“I am passionate about this event because it directly helps a child go to school. It makes a real difference in that kids’ life and his family’s future.”