Ottawa families get boost as volunteers pack 170 backpacks for students in need

Two Ottawa entrepreneurs have launched a 'Backpack Giveback,' distributing 170 fully stocked backpacks to students at five schools across the city before the start of the academic year.

Dave Thompson and Tammy Allarie, who run the Ottawa Megadome in Stittsville, assembled the packs with help from staff in late August. Elementary backpacks contained pencil crayons, erasers, sharpeners, pencil cases, glue sticks, scissors, lined paper, two small binders, pencils and crayons. High school packs included pens, pencils, Texas Instruments calculators, geometry sets, three-ring binders and workbooks. Thompson estimated the entire operation cost around $4,000.

The initiative began when Allarie, who moved to Ottawa from Newfoundland as a teenager, shared memories of how a new backpack boosted her confidence on the first day of school. "School supplies shopping was a big deal every year. It's a good way to start positively. School's tough sometimes, so, if you can get off on the right start, you're partway there," she said. She recalled noticing classmates who lacked fresh supplies and wanted to address that gap.

Thompson, a former snowplowing company owner known for generosity—he once filled dump trucks with snow from local arenas for children at the Roger Neilson Children's Hospice—jumped at the chance. "She said, 'What about backpacks?' And I was like, 'I'll definitely figure it out.'" They contacted a backpack company offering bulk discounts and targeted schools with greater need.

The packs were distributed to Paul Desmarais Catholic Secondary School, St. Elizabeth Elementary School, Prince of Peace School, St. Philip School and Richmond Public School. Paul Desmarais, which sits next to the Megadome through an existing partnership, was the first drop-off point.

Principal Mathieu Gagné relied on school secretaries to identify families who could benefit. "It's always a delicate matter to identify families in need. These secretaries, they are amazing. And they are profoundly human. They talk to the families more than I do," Gagné said.

Thompson said the impact was immediate: after dropping supplies at Paul Desmarais, he watched kids walking out with his backpacks. "It's the necessities they need to at least start their journey. If they aren't able to do that on their own, and if their families have a hard enough time doing that, this alleviates the pressure, and they can put money towards new shoes on their feet, or food on the table," he said.

Thompson indicated the initiative will expand next year. "I guarantee next year it'll be more," he said—though the source material does not specify the exact scale of plans or the total number of backpacks distributed across all five schools.