Hundreds of Corporate and Community Partners Garner Support for Operation Backpack® 2019
Sixteen years ago, Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) started Operation Backpack® with the modest goal of collecting gently used backpacks and school supplies for the 600 children living in VOA-GNY shelters. Today, the campaign has grown to become New York City’s largest back-to-school drive of its kind. Last year, Operation Backpack® provided 20,000 beautiful, new backpacks brimming with grade-specific school supplies to children living in NYC's homeless and domestic violence shelters — not just VOA-GNY's shelters.
Because Operation Backpack® has no public funding, the success of the campaign relies 100% on support from the community. VOA-GNY is grateful to have nearly 300 corporate and community partners (and counting!) join us for this year’s campaign as official sponsors, brand ambassadors, official drop locations, in-kind donors, and more — making this a truly citywide endeavor.
This month, we are particularly grateful for the support of our dedicated media partners who have donated out-of-home advertising space in taxis, in movie theaters, on buses, and on spectacular digital billboards in the middle of Times Square and throughout the Fulton and World Trade Centers downtown. Thank you to these amazing brand ambassadors who so generously help spread the word about this vital campaign: Branded Cities, Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT Group), Curb Taxi Media, NCM, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, and Vector Media.
The NYPD Transit Bureau has also partnered with VOA-GNY to offer their transit district hubs as backpack drop-off locations throughout the month of July. Not only can the public support Operation Backpack® by donating new backpacks and supplies at subway stations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens, but they have a chance to get to know their Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCOs) on a more personal level. It's truly a mutually beneficial partnership, and we couldn't be more grateful for the NYPD Transit Bureau's willingness to support our cause.
Several other brands have pledged their support of VOA-GNY and Operation Backpack® this year including Wendy Williams in partnership with Snax-Sational Brands, Oilogic Essential Oil Care, and MCM Worldwide, by offering special promotions and exposure to benefit the campaign.