Send’em Off Smiling is a registered charity in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region
Send’em Off Smiling is dedicated to supporting children in need through its back-to-school program. Founded in 1994, the organization collaborates with schools to provide backpacks filled with school clothing and supplies to children in need. We were excited to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2024 with over 22,000 backpacks delivered!
Send’em Off Smiling is more than just a backpack program.
In fact, our backpacks are filled with much more than school supplies. Discover what’s inside our fully loaded back-to-school backpacks and how you can help! Additionally, each backpack is carefully packed by our dedicated individual and workplace volunteers, sponsors, and community partners. We couldn’t operate without the generous donations and time provided by our volunteers. Learn more about sponsoring a child’ backpack or becoming a sponsor today.
Our mission is to set children in need on a more hopeful path
Helping children in families living below the poverty line
One in eight children now live below the poverty line in Waterloo Region. For a child, the poverty line is rarely drawn as clearly as it is on the first day of school each September. Teachers offer a heart-breaking perspective into the visible effects of poverty. Many tell us that they have brought socks, warm sweaters and even underwear to help the neediest children. Far from being excited about the first day of school, these children can begin the year with a disheartening disadvantage — and they suffer both socially and academically.
We work with schools and rely on teachers to identify those children who will benefit most from the program. We know from teacher feedback that the program does an exemplary job of “connecting the dots” between child poverty, learning readiness, and the future prospects of these children.
Registered Charity # 82922 7883 RR0001.
P.O. Box 333, Kitchener Ontario, N2G 3Y9