Lawyer gives away 23,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to needy children

There are 23,000 kids, ranging from kindergarten to grade five, in the Detroit Public School system. Most of them show up to class with used or second-hand school supplies and most of the time, teachers are digging into their own pockets to help them out.

During their first week of classes, one law firm in Detroit, Michigan, decided to do something to let those students start off their school year right.

The Mike Morse Law Firm with help of the Kids in Need Foundation (KINF) gave away 23,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students from K through to fifth grade in 65 elementary schools across the region, according to the Mike Morse Law Firm YouTube video.

“I think it teaches them that there are people out there in the community that care about them,” said Mike Morse, attorney and owner of the law firm in the video. “They want them to succeed. They want them to win in life.”

The idea to give away thousands of backpacks came to Morse earlier this year.

In May, his firm gave away 400 backpacks to one elementary school, CBS 62 reports.

“That really resonated with me, so I thought ‘let’s do this is a bigger way,’” Morse told CBS 62. “Let’s give away a backpack full of supplies, everything they need on the first day of school so they can have the same playing field as every other kid in the state.”

In the video, students at Edison Elementary school are seen receiving their $20 backpacks filled with notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, and much more, to help them get through the school year.

“If they don’t have those basic things sometimes that impedes their ability to concentrate in school,” said Marcus Davenport, Edison’s principal.“You’re giving the children an opportunity, a seed to grow. So that they can have a taste at success.”

The Detroit Public Schools giveaway was the largest single initiative the KINF has ever taken on during the non-profit’s 20-year history.

“I’m hoping that other businesses will step up and do this for other school districts,” Morse told CBS 62.