Leader of the Pack - Backpack drive

Firefighters and Friends provide back-to-school backpacks.

Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue distributed more than a thousand new backpacks to families and children in need Aug. 14 at Station 11 in the Penn Daw section of Alexandria.

“I used to be a single parent and these programs helped my daughter to get a backpack when she was young,” said Shelease Sharpe, a volunteer with Modern Technology Solutions Inc. “I didn’t have to worry about her school supplies or her backpack so for me being here feels like we’re paying it forward.”

Former Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Willie Bailey founded the Firefighters and Friends organization nearly 30 years ago, adding the backpack initiative to the annual holiday toy drive more than two decades ago.

“This program has been running for greater than two decades and I have been here most of those years,” said IAFF Local 2068 Fairfax County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Unit President Robert Young, a 22-year firefighting professional. “I appreciate the firefighters who are here today, the volunteers here today and especially Will Bailey, who has spearheaded this for several decades. Without this program most of these children would unfortunately go without these items and start out the school year at a severe disadvantage.”

Sponsors for Fire Station 11 Backpack Giveaway include: Ken Savittere Foundation; United Community; Apple Federal Credit Union; Local 2068; Progressive Firefighters of Fairfax County; The Clifton Community; Modern Technology Solutions, Inc.; Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Retirement Association; Nationwide Credit Corporation; Medocracy, Inc.; Tysons Corner Rotary; Promax Realtors, Springfield; Primo Family Restaurant; Mount Vernon Gazette; and Firefighters & Friends to the Rescue. 

“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all the businesses and individuals who generously sponsored our annual backpack giveaway,” Bailey said. “Because of their support we were able to provide 1,600 local students with new backpacks filled with notebooks, pens, pencils, and other supplies helping them start the school year with confidence. When firefighters are not running 911 emergency calls we are trying to find other ways to help our community and today it was providing much needed items for the start of the school year.”