The Salvation Army has been offering their Back to School Backpack Program for a number of years and has always relied on the community's support to purchase the bags and supplies for the kids.

However, this year their entire backpack program has been sponsored by Royal LePage Signature in Weyburn and they plan to sponsor more than just this year's worth of supplies.

"They stepped up to fund our backpack program for this year and actually they've committed for years to follow," expressed Shannon Fodchuk, Family Services Assistant for the Weyburn Salvation Army. "Bree just messaged me one day when she saw me advertising about it and offered to sponsor the whole program."

Each child that is registered in the Salvation Army's back to school program will receive a brand new backpack filled with binders, papers, pens, pencils, pencil crayons, markers, rulers, and pretty much everything else they'll need to start the school year.

"It's important because our kids are our future and we want to set them up for success," Fodchuk stated. "We're going to start handing them out later this week and hopefully we'll get them all out by Friday."

She added that this is the first time the Salvation Army has seen a business sponsor their entire backpack program and she thanked the community for their ongoing support over the years.

The Salvation Army will still be giving away free lunches at the Souris School parking lot located at 316 5 Avenue Southeast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and all children are welcome.

The final day of the free lunches will be on August 27, 2021, and you can keep up with the Salvation Army's latest programs by following them on Facebook.