The Long Beach Rescue Mission Gives Back For Back To School

The Long Beach Rescue Mission is seeking volunteers through the end of the month to help fill over 600 backpacks with school supplies for their back-to-school backpack drive. 

The Mission will be filling backpacks until August 31 and will distribute the backpacks during the first week of September. Students will receive much-needed supplies such as binders, pens, notebooks, and much more. The backpacks are going to local Long Beach Unified School District middle school students that are identified by their school’s principal as being in need of support. 

“It’s a blessing and an honor for the Mission to support the students in need, so they can have access to those materials they need to have a quality middle school experience,” said Long Beach Rescue Mission Director of Development Lupe Lopez. 

This year, the Rescue Mission has received a donation of $5,000 from a community partner to assist with their effort to bring resources to children in need. The remaining funds from this year’s Backpack Drive will be used to supply early learning centers in Long Beach with needed materials. The Mission hopes these donated supplies will help alleviate the stress that many families face trying to provide for their young students. 

“We want to provide resources that support these children’s development and provide the required materials like flashcards, foam numbers, and more,” said Lopez. “The material list is different at that age than other grade levels. We want to help those hard-working parents out as much as we can.”

The Mission hopes to help students have a successful school year and will be sending a message of hope along with the school supplies they will be providing to let students know the Long Beach Rescue Mission supports their education. 

Backpacks and school supplies can also be dropped off at Bethany Church Long Beach. Members of the church will be collecting donations for the Rescue Missions Backpack Drive. Donations can be dropped off at the church office from Monday to Thursday 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. or during the church service on August 28. Bethany Church is located at 2250 Clark Avenue. 

Those who cannot bring supplies or volunteer in person, but still wish to assist the Rescue Mission’s Backpack Drive, can make a monetary donation by visiting give.lbrm.org and selecting Backpacks in the Designation tab. Donations can be made until August 31. 

To find out more about volunteering in the Mission’s Backpack Drive, call the Long Beach Rescue Mission at (562) 591-1292 or email info@lbrm.com. 

By Morgan Trivitt