Cooper Employees and The Cooper Foundation Donate Backpacks, School Supplies to Camden Students

More than 1,800 backpacks and school supplies were donated through The Cooper Foundation’s Operation Backpack!

Learning in the age of COVID-19 presents many challenges to school systems, teachers, students, and their families, but thanks to employees at Cooper University Health Care and The Cooper Foundation, 1,800 Camden students will not have to worry about school supplies. Whether in a school building or at home, students need supplies and backpacks, and Cooper employees and The Cooper Foundation were determined to make sure that a pandemic did not get in the way of this year’s Operation Backpack.

Cooper employees have been generously donating backpacks and supplies to Camden students for 10 years. This year, Cooper donated 1,800 new backpacks filled with school supplies to each student at KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy Lanning Square, John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School, and the new Sumner High School so that they have the necessary supplies to start a new year of learning.

“This school year will look a bit different, but The Cooper Foundation remains committed to supporting Camden students,” said George E. Norcross III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cooper University Health Care. “Now, more than ever, children need to know that the community cares about them and wants them to be healthy and succeed.”

In years past, Cooper employees have come together to collect and donate new backpacks and school supplies for students in Camden. However, due to COVID-19, The Cooper Foundation was unable to accept physical donations, so employees found another way and made monetary gifts to support this effort.

“During this unique time when a pandemic has had such a big impact on our community, we are grateful for partners like The Cooper Foundation to be able to meet some of our students’ basic needs,” stated Drew Martin, Executive Director of KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy. “It’s important our scholars start the school year strong and we can continue to serve them at the highest levels.” 

 There are just a few more days left to donate!

Operation Backpack is different this year, but with the same goal – providing children with the items they need for school, whether remotely or in the classroom.

Monetary donations will help support The Cooper Foundation’s Operation Backpack initiative by ensuring every student scholar has the tools they need for a successful start to the school year.

Here’s What to Do

In the past, many of you came together as a unit to arrange a group collection. You can still do that. Whether you collect money from a group or make an individual donation, your gift, in any amount, will make an impact.

  • Organize your co-workers to collect donations or donate on your own and start the school year right.
  • Use a one-time payroll deduction. 

Give Now

  • Your gift of $10 will provide notebooks, pencils or art supplies, giving a child the chance to express their thoughts and learn.
  • Your gift of $15 will provide a brand new backpack for an elementary school student.
  • Your gift of $25 will give a middle or high school student a backpack ready to start the school year.
  • Want to do more? Double your gift and support two students with a gift of $50.
  • Your gift in any amount will help a child thrive this academic year.

Donate now through September 4th, and help a student scholar start the school year right.

Prefer to make a donation by mail, fax, or payroll deduction?

Click here to download and print a PDF of the donation form.

About The Cooper Foundation
The Cooper Foundation serves as the philanthropic, community outreach and community development arm of Cooper University Health Care, one of the largest health systems in southern New Jersey with over 100 outpatient offices and its flagship, Cooper University Hospital, located in Camden, NJ.

About KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy
New Jersey’s first renaissance school, the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy in Camden, NJ, was established under the state’s Urban Hope Act, which created a pilot program to provide students in three struggling school districts – Camden, Newark, and Trenton – access to new, quality public schools in their communities. The Academy was created in partnership with KIPP, one of the most renowned, national networks of free, open-enrollment, college preparatory public charter schools; The Cooper Foundation, the charitable arm of Cooper University Health Care, and the Norcross Foundation. The new, 110,000-square-foot campus opened in 2015 and provides guaranteed enrollment for students in grades pre-K through 8th living in the Lanning Square and Cooper Plaza neighborhoods. The Camden network opened its second middle school in August 2016 and a high school in 2020.