School Supply Costs Are Up Nearly 8% This Year — HELPIS Launches Backpack Drive to Help Local Students Start Strong
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Massachusetts nonprofit collects new backpacks and supplies for students of all ages as families face rising back-to-school costs, ahead of August 15 deadline.
MASSACHUSETTS — Help Me Help Someone, Inc. (HELPIS), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that connects generous donors with social service organizations across the state, has launched its 2026 Backpack and School Supplies Drive, collecting new backpacks and essential school supplies for students facing hardship—from elementary school through high school.
The drive runs now through August 15, 2026, giving the community several weeks to help ensure no student starts the school year without the tools they need to succeed.
“A new backpack. A working pen. A notebook that isn’t already falling apart,” said Joyce Deliyiannis of HELPIS. “For a lot of students, that's the difference between walking into the first day of school feeling ready, and walking in feeling behind before it even starts. This drive is about making sure every student—no matter their age or grade—gets that feeling of being ready.”
HELPIS is asking the community to help in two ways:
Donate new backpacks and school supplies — including notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, markers, binders, and glue sticks — at designated HELPIS drop-off locations.
Make a monetary donation online, allowing HELPIS to purchase and distribute supplies directly to students in need.
“This year, the stakes are even higher,” explained Emily Trask of HELPIS. “School supply costs are up nearly 8% nationally.”
Kate Mun, Treasurer of HELPIS, said: “Families are expected to spend around $175 per student on basics alone. For many local families already stretched thin, that’s a real challenge.”
“Every backpack we fill carries more than school supplies,” added Luann Arsenault. “It carries a message to that student that someone in their community showed up for them.”
All donations are distributed through HELPIS’ network of partner social service organizations, which serve individuals and families across Massachusetts. HELPIS works exclusively with organizations such as Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, Lahey Clinic, Old Colony YMCA, Project Hope, Plummer Youth Promise, and Burlington and Woburn Public Schools—ensuring donations reach students and families who need them most.
Members of the public interested in donating supplies or making an online gift can visit www.helpis.org or contact HELPIS directly for drop-off locations.
Deadline to donate: August 15, 2026
About HELPIS Help Me Help Someone, Inc. (HELPIS) is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that bridges individual and business donors with social service organizations supporting families across the Commonwealth. Since its founding, HELPIS has delivered necessities to tens of thousands of people throughout Massachusetts. The organization was also instrumental in the passage of Bill H.2747, signed into law by then-Governor Charlie Baker, officially declaring May the Month of Kindness in Massachusetts—the first such law in the nation. The effort was sparked by HELPIS founder Joyce Deliyiannis, with schoolchildren across the state championing the cause.
Media Contact: Emily Trask, Vice President, www.helpis.org