School bells may seem a long way off, but United Way of Brown County, in partnership with Alliance Bank and the Koozie Group, is already working to help families fill their kids’ backpacks for school. It takes a great deal of money and scores of volunteers to fill a backpack, and our United Way of the Brown County Area knows that some families will struggle to do this.

Information has already been sent out to over 500 families throughout Brown County whose families qualified for educational benefits in the 2023-24 school year. This program has been highly successful in the Brown County communities, and we hope to see record donations again this year. To give you an idea of how much is needed, in the previous year, we collected 5600 pencils, 760 spiral notebooks, 770 dry-erase markers, 500 boxes of Kleenex, 300 highlighters, and much more!  Last summer, over 475 backpacks were distributed across Brown County.

The United Way of the Brown County Area understands the importance of a quality education. Please help kids in Brown County be excited to start school because they have a new backpack filled with the supplies on their school’s list. Monetary gifts can be given to the United Way Backpack Project by visiting our website at www.unitedwaybrowncountyarea.org or by mail at PO Box 476, New Ulm, MN  56073.  The United Way is actively recruiting volunteers to assist with the program by collecting supplies, completing inventory, and packing backpacks.  We are looking for at least 50 individuals who can give their time to bring this program to fruition.  Please contact the United Way office or visit our website for more information.