In what has become an annual back-to-school tradition, Cooper University Health Care team members and other donors have raised funds to purchase backpacks and school supplies for all students enrolled at KIPP Lanning Square Primary, KIPP Lanning Square Middle, KIPP Sumner Elementary, KIPP Hatch Middle and KIPP Cooper Norcross High School as part of the Foundation’s annual Operation Backpack. This year, more than 2,200 backpacks were donated.
“We at Cooper are committed to improving our community’s quality of life, and Operation Backpack shows that commitment goes beyond health,” said George E. Norcross III, Chairman of the Cooper Board of Trustees.
“Cooper’s mission is to serve, to heal, to educate, and that includes supporting young people in our community. Providing students with backpacks and school supplies gives them the foundation for a successful school year,” said Philip A. Norcross, Esq., Chairman of The Cooper Foundation Board of Trustees.
Since 2013, Cooper team members and donors have participated in The Cooper Foundation’s Operation Backpack. The initiative started as a collection drive where team members and departments donated backpacks and school supplies for Camden students. In 2020, to ensure everyone’s health and safety during the pandemic, The Cooper Foundation began soliciting monetary gifts and using those funds to order backpacks and school supplies. This allowed The Cooper Foundation to provide students with the exact items their teachers said they would need for the upcoming school year.
“Each year, Cooper team members are eager to participate in the Operation Backpack initiative. We are grateful for their ongoing support,” said Robert A. Ortiz Jr., JD, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of The Cooper Foundation.
“We are so appreciative of partners like The Cooper Foundation that understand the crucial need for school supplies, especially with rising inflation prices. Donations of school supplies like these help our students to start the year off strong and set them up for success,” said Drew Martin, Executive Director of KIPP New Jersey.
The backpacks and school supplies were delivered to each of the recipient schools and distributed to students at the start of the year.