Communities in Schools of North Carolina and Walmart are partnering for their third Build a Backpack school supply drive.
The campaign starts Saturday and will run through Aug. 31, a news release said. It involves 144 Walmart stores across the state and aims to help economically disadvantaged students in nearly 80 counties.
Locally, Communities in Schools of Rowan County and Communities in Schools of Cabarrus County will participate.
Through Aug. 31, bins will be available at the front of Walmart stores to collect donated school supplies. Communities in Schools will then collect the items and distribute them to students.
Local stores are the Walmart Supercenter at 323 S. Arlington St. in Salisbury and the Walmart Supercenter at 2420 Supercenter Drive NE, Kannapolis.
Many Communities in Schools organizations are also planning events at the local level, including a “Stuff The Bus” event Aug. 2-4, which is a tax-free weekend in North Carolina.
The United Way will help distribute supplies in some counties, the news release said.