PAY IT FORWARD: Beyond the Backpack provides families with school resources
WASHINGTON - After a very rough year, many kids are heading back to the classroom. But for many parents the pandemic has left families strapped for cash and unable to supply everything their students may need.
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Goods for Good is an organization that is paying it forward by stepping in to fill that gap. D.C. resident Elizabeth Workman and her family started donating money raised through yard sales to local non-profits nearly a decade ago. Since then, the volunteer run organization has taken on several projects to help fill the gap between community needs and services provided.
Beyond the Backpack is a current project that is providing families with school aged children resources that go beyond pencils and paper. "We are supplying kids with things like water bottles, healthy snacks, and more. Whatever they need to start the school year off right," Workman says.
The organization relies on volunteers and donations to make the projects possible. That’s why the team was so excited when Easterns Automotive commended their efforts to support local children and families and donated $2000 to the Beyond the Backpack initiative! Friendship Place is one of the beneficiaries of this project. They support nearly 400 families through their Neighbors First program.
If you are interested in getting involved, you can find Goods for Good online at GoodsForGoodDC.org.
If you know someone who should be featured on Pay It Forward, you can nominate them here. In your email, be sure to include who they are and why they deserve to be recognized.