Islandwide backpack drive for keiki in need in full swing

An islandwide backpack drive for keiki in need is going on from now through July 19.

New and unfilled backpacks may be dropped off at any Hawai‘i Island police station. According to a police press release Friday, backpacks are the most requested non-food item by charities in Hawaiʻi.

The donated backpacks will be distributed to children at women’s shelters, homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities around the island.

Since 2008, the Hawaiʻi Police Department has teamed up with Hope Services Hawaiʻi to collect school backpacks for children who cannot afford them. Last year more than 700 backpacks were collected throughout the island’s police stations and distributed by Hope Services.