Members of the United Way of Southwest Michigan will once again equip students with the supplies they need for the new school year next month — though they will need the community’s help to do so.

The area non-profit is looking for volunteers for its upcoming School Supply Spectacular, which will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Brookside Learning Center (61662 Dailey Road, Cassopolis). Volunteers may choose to help out during the event itself, on the Tuesday or Friday leading up to the giveaway, or any combination of the three dates.

United Way will host a second giveaway at the Marcellus Methodist Church from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 23. Volunteers will not be needed for that event.

The annual event, which leaders with the Lewis Cass ISD started in 2009 before the United Way of Southwest Michigan took over in 2011, is designed to help students from low-income families living in Cass County. Volunteers will hand out free backpacks to kindergarten through 12th-grade students during the giveaway. Each bag will contain an assortment of age-appropriate school supplies, including pencils, pens, notebooks, scissors, binders, glue sticks, tissues, pencil boxes, bottles of hand sanitizer and more.

“One of our core focuses at United Way is education. A great start to the school year can greatly impact a child and their ability to do well in the classroom. This event ensures that children, whose family may have economic struggles, have the tools they need to walk into the classroom ready on day 1,” said Julee Laurent, United Way of Southwest Michigan Volunteer Engagement Manager.

The organizers plan to have 900 backpacks ready to go for the event next month, Laurent said.

Volunteers will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Brookside to unpack, sort and count the supplies. Volunteers will gather again at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 18, to pack the bags themselves in assembly-line fashion, Laurent said.

During the event itself, people may volunteer for several different responsibilities, including helping with parking, registration, and backpack handouts or with the Feeding America food truck that will be on the premises that morning.

Businesses or families may choose to volunteer as a group, as well. Adults as well as children and teenagers may sign up to help.

“Just giving a couple hours of your time can make a huge difference. You’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish in such a short period of time,” Laurent said. “It doesn’t take much time to pack or hand out these backpacks, but the amount of impact they make is huge.”

To sign up, interested volunteers are asked to visit uwsm.org/school-supply-spectacular.

The event is sponsored by the Pokagon Fund, McLoughlin Family Foundation, Chemical Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Edwardsburg Lowe Foundation.