Here's how Londoners are helping families in need prepare for the school year

As parents and children across London gear up for a return to school, a number of people and organizations around the city are stepping up to make sure they have what they need, even if they can't afford it.

The annual push to make sure families struggling to get by have what they need for school comesfromall corners of the city, and from religious and secular communities alike.

They're askingthe community for donations of school supplies, non-perishable food, and clothes, as well as asking for volunteers to pitch in to help bring those donations to the people who need them most.

"A lot ofpeople cannot afford the priceof groceries, let alone school supplies. Those costs aregoing up and up and up, so we've heard a lot of great responses to the fact that we're doing the best we can to help,"said McKaylahFay, the children's ministry pastor for Royal View Church in London.

Fay's church is in the process of setting up for an event she hopes will draw a large crowd, she said.

The Back to School Bash, scheduled for Aug. 31, between 11 a.m., and 3 p.m., will combine festivities with alms and invites people who can to donate to families in need while celebrating the community.

"We thought a lot about what we wanted to do to help and we prayed over it. This is kind of what came out of that. We really wanted to connect with our community and connect with the families in the community," said Fay.

The event at the church at 218 Clarke Rd. will include a free barbecue, games, candy and more, while putting most of its focus on a donation drive for school supplies like pencils, calculators,and more. At the event, 100 backpacks will be filled with those supplies and handed to families in need on a first-come, first-served basis, Fay said.

The event will even include free back-to-school haircuts performed by people in the church community who cut hair for a living, she said, adding the haircuts are on an appointment-only basis.

According to Fay, the difficulties some families face in making sure their children have what they need for school are real, and often unheard.

"We're hearinga lot more about those struggles the closer we get to the event," she said.

Londoner Donna Atkinson-Wilson runs a charitable organization called Keeping Kids Warm, and has dedicated 21 years of her life for the charitable causefor children and teens.

Her latest push is a back to school supply collection drivein collaboration with The Well a bar and restaurant chain with locations in London, Toronto, and elsewhere.

"There areso many people struggling because of the economy that we feelit's important that every kid has what they need to attend school. If we can help some of those people and take that stress away from them, that's all we want," said Atkinson-Wilson.

Until Aug. 25, they're accepting donationsany and all school supplies at restaurant locations, which willbe distributed on Aug. 29 and 30.

Atkinson-Wilson said she'll be helpedby high school students in the community to putpackages together for families, who can add the experience to their community service requirement for graduation.

She said drives that offer supplies to families in need are important becauseit's often difficult to know who needs help just by looking.

"Alot of them won't ask for help either, because they are working and have two jobs or they have a roof over their head, but they're still struggling, and they don't feel that they should be asking for help," she said.

Long-running programs return

Over the weekend, Islamic Relief Canada held its annual back to school campaign both in London and country-wide.

"This kind of thing recognizes the importance of education and believes that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed academically," said SaimaSarwar, the organization's regional fundraising specialist for the area.

Since donations were collected, about 90 backpacks filled with supplies are beinghanded out to children in need," she said.

Mission Services of London, meanwhile, launched its annual Fill the Bus campaign on Friday. It encourages donations of things like juice boxes, running shoes, pencils, art suppliesand more.

Those donations will go to supporting families at the shelter on Stanley Street.