In Brooklyn, more than 600 students were surprised with backpacks full of school supplies for the upcoming school year. It was the first day of school at Brooklyn’s P.S. 276 school. The students were called upon at the first day to receive a special gift. The students gathered at the school auditorium and when the curtain of the auditorium was raised, it showed backpacks for each of the students, and each was full of school supplies.
The surprise was organized by school supplies manufacturer Bic and the Kids in Need Foundation. The kids were surprised at the unexpected gifts and they were ecstatic to receive much needed school supplies. Most of the children that attend the school could not afford to have the most basic school supplies for their classes.
“It has been amazing today to see the energy of the students and the energy of the teachers,” said Todd Kehley of Bic. “There was nothing better on the first day of school.” The company Bic is a company based in Clichy, France and is known mainly for making ballpoint pens and pencils.
“Our mission is to see every child exceed in the classroom,” Dave Smith of the Kids in Need Foundation. “When students have the basic supplies: their attitude, their behavior, and even their self-esteem, also increases.”
“They were so happy. I could see it in their faces, they were thrilled. To get these supplies that are desperately needed,” said Alice Whitaker, a teacher at the school, “They were so happy and they were looking at stuff that they never saw before.”