Inside the Cobourg Lions Centre on Tuesday, August 11, there was a lot of noise.
But it was the kind of noise that comes with a community coming together.
Tables were covered with school supplies, snacks and age-appropriate hygiene products as volunteers worked together to stuff 850 brand-new backpacks for local students who will be heading back to school this September.
It was Backpack Stuffing Day 2026 — one of the biggest days of the year for United Way Northumberland’s Backpacks for Kids program.
Now entering its 21st year, the program provides backpacks and school supplies to students from JK through Grade 12 across Northumberland County, including Cobourg, Port Hope, Brighton, Alnwick/Haldimand, Cramahe, Hamilton Township, Trent Hills and Alderville First Nation.
Northumberland United Way Communications and Fundraising Coordinator April Day said the program is about much more than a backpack.
“Today is Backpacks for Kids 2026. This program has been around for 21 years, and today we are packing 850 new backpacks full of new school supplies, snacks, and age-appropriate hygiene products for 850 local children and youth across Northumberland County.”
The backpacks are divided according to age and grade level, with separate packages for JK, kindergarten and Grade 1 students, Grades 2 to 5, Grades 6 to 8, and high school students.
And while the backpacks may look different depending on the age of the student, the message inside each one is the same — you matter, and your community cares about you.
Day said community support is what keeps the program moving.
“Community support is essential and community support never lets you down,” she said.
The program is supported by industry sponsors, donors, local businesses, service clubs, donation drives and the hundreds of volunteers who help put everything together.
This year also includes a partnership with Sarah and Brett Turck of Sherwood Mortgage Group and their Stuff the Truck donation drive in Port Hope.
But ultimately, the goal is simple — make sure no child walks into school feeling like they have less than everyone else.
The backpacks are provided free of charge to children attending school in Northumberland County. Families can register online, while backpacks are also distributed through community agencies and food banks.
Among those involved in distribution are Rebound, Cornerstone, the Salvation Army, Community Health Centres of Northumberland and rural food banks throughout the county. Backpacks will also be delivered to Harwood Hall.
And United Way is already thinking about the final days before school begins.
Day said approximately 100 backpacks are being held back because the organization knows there will be families who find themselves struggling at the last minute.
“We know that there’s going to be people who are struggling that last week,” she said. “So, we hold back a hundred to be able to accommodate those folks in the last week of August.”
For some families, that final week before school can bring a tremendous amount of stress.
School clothing. Shoes. Lunches. Transportation. Registration. Supplies.
For a family already struggling to make ends meet, the cost can quickly become overwhelming.
And children notice.
Day knows that firsthand.
She shared a story from when her son was in junior kindergarten.
Her son had a new Mario backpack, a new thermos and little notes in his lunch telling him, “Mommy loves you.”
He went to school feeling cared for.
But one day, while Day was volunteering in his classroom, she noticed another little boy sitting at the table.
When the children were told to get their backpacks, everyone jumped up.
Except him.
Day asked him if he wanted to get his backpack.
He returned with a black cloth bag.
Then came lunchtime.
The boy pulled a Ziploc bag from his belongings containing a bag of ketchup-flavoured chips and a can of Coke.
Day said there was no judgment attached to what that family was experiencing.
But she could see the difference the little boy felt.
“He knew that his lunch bag was very different than my son’s,” she said.
That memory has stayed with her.
And it is one of the reasons she believes so strongly in Backpacks for Kids.
Because a new backpack doesn’t solve every problem a family may be facing.
But it can remove one worry.
It can give a child something new.
Something of their own.
Something that looks like what the other children have.
And, perhaps most importantly, something that tells them they belong.
“This backpack is a reason for them to feel inspired to go to school, to not feel less than the child sitting next to them,” Day said.
There is another part to that story that makes it even more meaningful.
Day said this is her third year running the program for United Way Northumberland.
And the little boy she remembers from her son’s kindergarten classroom?
He is now 19.
For the third year, he has participated in Backpacks for Kids himself — giving back to other children.
“We talk about that little guy every time we do this program,” Day said.
On Tuesday, 850 backpacks were being prepared for children who may never know the story behind the hands that packed them.
They may never know the names of the volunteers who put the pencils, notebooks, supplies, snacks and hygiene products inside.
But when they walk through their school doors in September with a brand-new backpack on their shoulders, they will know something.
Someone cared enough to make sure they had one.
And in a community where the cost of living continues to put pressure on families, that small gesture can mean far more than most people realize.
850 backpacks.
850 local students.
And 850 reminders that they are not alone.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
