On the morning of August 22, a queue of kids and caregivers buzzed excitedly as the line outside St. Luke’s Lutheran Church began to move. When the first wave of families participating in our 2026 Back to School program entered the Friendship Hall doors, WayForward Resources case managers greeted them for check-in. Soon the room was lively with kids, teens, and their adults selecting their perfect backpacks. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the hard work of our volunteers, 465 students received supply-filled backpacks and college supply packages—making it possible for them to start the school year ready to learn.

Lynn Metz, a longtime WayForward Resources volunteer who has helped manage Back to School donation inventory for 14 years, noted that backpack selection can be as much about bolstering students’ self-confidence as directly supporting their academics. She recalls one high schooler who initially showed reluctance with her mother over a video call during this year’s Distribution Day. She was concerned the available backpacks would all be the same, and therefore stand out to her peers. When she realized she could choose from a wide variety of options and pick a bag with supplies that suited her personal style, her mood was transformed, and it gave her an opportunity to feel excited about the coming school year.

Stephanie Vidrio-Garcia, WayForward’s Intervention Case Manager, stated: “With the rising cost of everyday necessities, the Back to School program has been a tremendous relief for families.” The Back to School program helps create stability for families by relieving the pressure of affording costly school supplies, allowing them to allocate their limited budget to essentials like groceries, rent, and medical care.

WayForward is so grateful to everyone who made supporting families through the Back to School program possible. A big thank you to our wonderful volunteers who helped plan, shop, pack, transport, and distribute backpacks and supplies. Major thanks to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church for hosting Distribution Day and running a wildly successful supply drive. Thanks as well to the Middleton Public Library for spreading the joy of reading with free books, and to Future Foam staff for helping transport supplies for Distribution Day. We received an incredible outpouring of supplies and financial support from individuals throughout our community—including one young program alum who sought to give back as a supply donor this year. We deeply appreciate the people, businesses, and organizations who ran drives to help ensure kids would have the tools to thrive in their classrooms this year, including:

St. Martin’s Lutheran Church
Forvis Mazars
PPD
St. Dunstan’s Church
Catalent
Poppy Home and Gifts
Network Engineering Technologies
Jewish Federation of Madison Hiking Group
Meridian Labs
Middleton Democrats
West Middleton Lutheran Church
Middleton Community Church
Madison Teal Team
Zonta Club of Madison
Fiduciary Real Estate Development, Inc
Madison No Fear Dentistry
TDS
Knothe and Bruce Architects
Emilie Schwab and Bishops Bay Neighbors
Great Midwest Bank
Wolters Kluwer
Madison Christian Community Church
FORM Wealth Advisors
Junction Ridge Neighborhood Association