Christ Episcopal Church is holding a backpack drive through August 10 to benefit homeless school children in the Vista Unified School District in San Diego’s North County. Vista Unified has identified over 2800 homeless students in their district, from kindergarteners to high school students. As you shop for back-to-school supplies for your own children, consider picking up an extra set of supplies to help an impoverished student get the school year off to a good start come September.

Christ Church is collecting new backpacks filled with the following school supplies: For children in grades K-5—a backpack, pencil box, pencils, scissors, crayons, and erasers; for students in grades 6-12: a backpack, 2-3 spiral notebooks, 2 1-inch binders, notebook paper, pencils, and pens. Community members wishing to participate in the backpack drive can drop off their donations at the Christ Church office weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm, or at the back of the church during Sunday services (8 am and 10 am) through August 10.

The backpacks will be distributed to students through North County Lifeline, a comprehensive social services agency that partners with Vista Unified on outreach services for homeless children and their families.

Christ Episcopal Church is located at the corner of Ninth Street and C Avenue in Coronado; the parish office address is 1114 Ninth Street telephone. Contact the church office (619-435-4561) or visit www.ChristChurchCoronado.org, for more information.