Backpack drive in Decatur provides supplies to struggling families for new school year

DECATUR, Ala. ( WHNT ) — School supplies seem more expensive than ever, causing some community members to wonder how they can make ends meet while preparing their children for the new school year.

Tim Wilson, the owner of a local Decatur McDonald’s, noticed this issue in his community and wanted to help. Wilson began a free backpack giveaway, with the bags full of school supplies from pencils to rulers to notebooks.

What started as 50 backpacks to give away has developed into more than 500 for all families in need.

“We’re ten minutes in and have already given away about 170 backpacks,” Wilson said.

These bags help parents like Abby Persinger, a mother and resident of Decatur, who got emotional as she shared that she is facing the most challenging emotional and financial battle of her life.

“I know there are tons of families that need help right now, and unfortunately, we are one of those families that needs help as well,” Persinger said. “We are being forced to move because someone bought our property, and they don’t need it as a rental anymore.”

Persinger is dealing with this trouble while trying to support, raise and send three children back to school prepared. Additionally, one of her children needs a little bit of extra support.

“He’s autistic, and he has ADHD and he’s deaf,” Persinger said. “So, it’s like, it’s hard out there.”

Unsure of how she would afford school supplies this year, she made it a priority to line up for free backpacks filled with the tools her children need on day one. She expressed how much this meant to her, especially because she didn’t know what would happen the next day.

Wilson started this effort four years ago, in 2020, with only 50 backpacks to give away. After seeing how quickly they were grabbed and the immediate need for more, he decided to make it an annual event, which has only grown since.

When shopping at a big-box retailer, the price of the items families were given for free today comes to $55.70. This amount could make all the difference for families with more than one child or for those struggling to make ends meet.

“I think everybody’s pinching pennies right now, and we’re able to offer some help to alleviate some of that pressure they’re feeling,” Wilson said.

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