Our goal is simple: for every one backpack you buy, we give one filled with school supplies to a child stricken by poverty. Via www.startsomegood.com.

My Dream

I have a dream in which hunger and poverty no longer dominate the majority of the world. I have a passion to see every child have an opportunity to learn just as we do in Canada. Where they are given an equal opportunity, so they are no longer subject to starvation, but have a chance to pursue and fulfill their dreams.

Children in the Majority World are lacking a lot of things. One of the greatest is a proper education.

How You Can Help

You can help. When you buy a backpack from The Backpack Company, you are giving school supplies and an education to a child who would have never received one without you. So when you buy a backpack, you’re not JUST buying a backpack.

We want you to know we’re legit. So when you buy a backpack, it contains a unique QR Code. After our trip where we deliver the backpacks, you can scan the QR Code with your smart phone. When you do, it brings you to a picture of the child that YOU bought a bag for. THAT is One-for-One.

Our Past Success

The Backpack Company started selling our first set of backpacks in August, and we sold out in December. We then went to Quelcata, Bolivia to deliver 100 backpacks (and school supplies) to 100 children enrolled in the school there. It was truly a life-changing experience for us and brought great joy to the children. We often take school supplies for granted, but when they received theirs it was as if it were Christmas.

The Future and You

The Backpack Company wants to do more projects, and already have some areas in mind. We are partnered with Hands Across the Nations (a not-for-profit that works out of Canada with communities in Bolivia and Mali). We want to continue this movement, but rather than seeking an investment from venture-capitalists, we want to get the money from our consumers (YOU!).

Please help us out by donating and spreading the word about our cause.

For more information on The Backpack Company go to www.thebackpackco.com and follow us on twitter and facebook! 

Tipping Point Goal: $10,000 (Donate)

Total Funding Goal: $15,000

We have seen the buy-one-give-one model work, and we want to pursue it further, but we need your help! By raising $10,000 we will be able to make another trip. This time we will be going to Mana, Mali (West Africa) to deliver another 100 backpacks to a different set of children. 100 backpacks will be Canadian made for our domestic customers. The additional 100 donated backpacks will be made in Mana (at a fair trade cost) for the children in Mana. We choose to make our bags for the underprivileged children in that particular community to help boost their economy any way we can.

We just finished designing our newest backpack (see picture). Although we have the design, it will still take time to develop in the manufacturing process. We plan on having the backpacks delivered to your front door no later than August 31st.

We will then use some of the funds to fly to Mana, and deliver the backpacks ourselves.

If we pass our tipping point, that would be incredible. All additional funds we make will be used to develop an athletic bag and iPad/Laptop sleeves. For every athletic bag we sell The Backpack Company will donate a monetary equivalent (of the manufacturing cost of the bag) for the purchase of sports equipment for the school ie. balls, nets, skipping ropes etc. For every iPad/Laptop sleeve we sell we’d like to donate a monetary equivalent (of the manufacturing cost of the sleeve) for the purchase of computers and if possible -based on existing infrastructure – an internet connection and services.

The Backpack Company believes in a holistic approach to education. A good sports program, access to computers, and access to information through the internet, among other things, are extremely beneficial to the development of these children.

For more information about The Backpack Co. check out www.thebackpackco.com