LAST UPDATED: August 2026
No child should start the school year feeling unprepared
As the cost of housing, groceries, transportation, and everyday essentials continues to rise, purchasing school supplies has become increasingly difficult for many Canadian families.
✏️ Thousands of families across Canada are making impossible choices between rent, groceries, and school supplies.
🏠 Children from low-income households, newcomer families, and refugee communities are most affected.
🎒 A backpack may seem simple — but for a child, it means walking into class with confidence and dignity.
🌟 Starting the year prepared sets children up to participate, learn, and thrive alongside their classmates.
Every backpack is thoughtfully packed with age-appropriate essentials
Each kit is designed to help students begin the school year prepared for success - everything they need from day one.
- Notebooks
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Pencil Crayons
- Calculators
- Glue Sticks
- Highlighters
- Ruler
- Pencil Case
- Sharpeners
More than school supplies - it's confidence on the first day.
By providing the tools children need on their first day of school, you're helping build confidence, encouraging learning, and investing in brighter futures. For parents, your support eases one financial burden during an already challenging time.
From your donation to a child's first day
1
You Donate
$50 fully funds one backpack with all essential school supplies
2
We Pack
Backpacks are assembled with age-appropriate, quality supplies for KG – G8 students
3
Partners Distribute
Trusted community partners across Canada identify and reach families in need
4
Child Thrives
A student walks into class on day one equipped, confident, and ready to learn
Our Goal this Season
$50 provides one fully equipped backpack for a child.
Our goal is to deliver 2,850 backpacks to children across Canada before the start of the school year.
Every donation helps ease financial pressure on families while ensuring children have the supplies they need to succeed.
Whether you give one backpack or many, your generosity helps students begin the school year ready to learn.
$50
Fully equips one child for the school year
2,850
Backpacks to be distributed
KG - G8
Children served, Kindergarten to Grade 8
Support reaches those who need it most
Islamic Relief Canada works alongside trusted community organizations to distribute backpacks while preserving the dignity of every family we serve.
Reliability
Low-Income Families
Families facing financial hardship who cannot afford the back-to-school season essentials.
Reliability
Food-Insecure Families
Households already struggling with food costs who face even greater strain at back-to-school season.
Reliability
Newcomer & Refugee Communities
Recently arrived families who are still building stability and establishing themselves in Canada.
Reliability
Families Facing Housing Instability
Children experiencing unstable housing situations who need one thing they can count on.
Reliability
Children with Additional Needs
Students who require extra support to participate fully in their school community.
Reliability
Single-Parent Households
Parents managing every household expense alone, for whom school supplies are an added strain.
Delivered with dignity, through trusted local partners
We don't just ship boxes — we work with established community partners across Canada who know the families they serve. This ensures assistance reaches the right people with care, respect, and dignity.
Our partner-led distribution model means every backpack reaches a family through a trusted relationship — not a distant institution. From coast to coast, local organizations handle distribution to ensure no child is missed.
