The holidays are quickly approaching and the 2014 Christmas backpack program has officially begun! That being said, we’ve got some exciting news for you! In years past, the Christmas backpack program has reached over 450 children in Honduras, giving them the ability to attend school with all the essential supplies to help them succeed. This year, Point of Impact is partnering with Memphis Athletic Ministries (MAM) to take the Christmas backpack program beyond Honduras and back to our own city of Memphis.
“We decided to partner with MAM this year to take the impact back home. We’ve reached our goal of providing backpacks for our own 450 children, but I knew there could be more. This year we aren’t just impacting Honduras, we’ll be impacting our own city.”
-David Hamilton, Founder of POI
Why the Christmas backpack?
The majority of our students who attend the POI program come from families that receive an income of less than two dollars a day. Due to this, children are not attending school because their parents cannot afford to purchase basic school supplies nor their required school fees. As a result, children are receiving a less than mediocre education—giving them little hope of ever overcoming this reality.
Similarly, high poverty rates, single parent families and low academic achievement plague our own urban communities of Memphis. Many of these children aren’t able to purchase even the most basic school necessities such as a uniform or a backpack. Often times, these families can only afford one uniform, therefore, the students have no other choice but to wear the same uniform for days on end.
What is in the backpack?
For sixty dollars your gift will provide a Honduran child with a new backpack, basic school supplies, a school uniform, and shoes. In addition, a child from the urban Memphis community will be given a new backpack, two uniform shirts, and a pair of uniform pants. For sixty dollars you can impact two children—one locally and one abroad.
How does it work?
In Honduras, the school year begins on a different schedule and will start its new year in February. Before the POI students return to class, our staff and volunteers will distribute their backpacks. In Memphis, as the new school year approaches in the Fall of 2015, MAM will be delivering the backpacks and school uniforms to their students before classes begins.
“MAM is thrilled to partner with Point of Impact during their Christmas backpack program. I am confident that together we can really make a difference across the globe.”
-Randy Odom, Chief Operating Officer of MAM
Help us reach our goal?
We have an overall goal of 900 backpacks, but we certainly cannot do this without you! Will you partner with Point of Impact and Memphis Athletic Ministries to impact children across the globe? Click here to help us reach our goal!
