While children take a break from school and enjoy their summer vacations, some communities are already planning their return to the classrooms. For the 11th consecutive year, Unity on the Bay is coordinating a Backpack Drive collecting stuffed backpacks for disadvantaged children from different communities and organizations. Last year Unity on the Bay delivered over 4,800 backpacks to ensure more children will have all the tools they need to learn in school this year. This year Unity on the Bay plans to surpass that number. To the best of our knowledge this would make Unity on the Bay’s Backpack Drive the largest in South Florida.

The Backpacks collected by Unity on the Bay containing school supplies will be distributed in Miami-Dade, Broward, Haiti and the Dominican Republic through over 30 different non-profit organizations. The organizations distributing the backpacks directly to children in need include Chapman Partnership for the Homeless, Communities in School, Touching Miami with Love, MDPS, Big Brothers Big Sisters and many more. These organizations provide services that range from summer art programs for inner city children, to assisting homeless men, women and children with their transition from the streets of Miami to greater stability. 

“We see this amazing program as an extension of our core values of generosity and love. We believe that not only are the children receiving these much needed supplies, they are also receiving hope and joy” says Rev. Christopher Jackson, Unity on the Bay’s Senior Minister.  

The backpacks were collected at Unity on the Bay and through partnership with local businesses which include Turnberry Associates, City National Bank, Keller William and Citi Private Bank.

ABOUT UNITY ON THE BAY

Unity on the Bay is an inclusive community serving as a catalyst for spiritual awakening, evolution, and action. Our vision is humanity inspired to its divinity. The Unity Movement, also referred to as “A Positive Path for Spiritual Living”, started over 100 years ago in Kansas City, Missouri, by co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. Their teachings arrived in Miami in 1927 creating the thriving community that today we know as Unity on the Bay. We are a diverse community of 2,000 congregants from various ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Unity on the Bay is a member of the Unity Worldwide Ministries, headquartered in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. For more information on Unity on the Bay please visit www.unityonthebay.org.