Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman joined the Junior League of Columbus to help kick off the Adopt-A-Backpack program on Tuesday.
More than 160 backpacks will be distributed to participants of the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department's Capital Kids after school program.
A project of the JLC, founded in 1999, Adopt-a-Backpack has donated over 23,000 supply-filled backpacks to elementary age children to provide them with the necessary tools for academic achievement.
Each year, the League raises funds to supply about 3,500 children in Central Ohio with backpacks.
The Junior League of Columbus has been donating backpacks to the Capital Kids program for nearly ten years.
Capital Kids is a program founded by Mayor Coleman in 2000, and is a unique model for after school programs.
When established, four pilot sites were created at area community centers.
This model incorporates trained staff, state of the art technology, strong family involvement, nutritious snacks and high expectations designed to gauge student's academic achievement and provide participants with a safe place to learn and play when school is out.
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