Over 600 AT&T employees united to fill 10,000 backpacks for school kids in need
As many parents know, getting kids ready for back-to-school season isn’t always easy.
Besides wrangling your children out of the summer mood of swimming pools and play sets, a major insecurity for many families and educators is making sure students are equipped with the right supplies for the school year. This can be an expensive task – and annually filling rucksacks with new pencils, notepads, and folders is a financially difficult task for one-third of Americans.
Additionally, U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that millions nationwide still don’t have access to the internet or connected devices needed to fully participate in the online world, an issue known as the digital divide, which sets many students back in the classroom.
When organizers at AT&T – a telecommunications company – were planning an employee engagement volunteering event at their headquarters in downtown Dallas, Texas, they knew they wanted to give back to the communities across the US that meet these needs.
Through the company’s AT&T Believes® volunteer programme, they brought hundreds of their headquarters employees out to stuff backpacks with school supplies.
On 17 June, 633 kindhearted AT&T employees gathered to stuff the backpacks, and in just one hour they filled 10,000 brand-new rucksacks with school supplies like coloured markers, notebooks, and pencil cases, headphones, and cards of encouragement written by AT&T employees.
And the heartwarming and record-breaking attempt saw the company earn two new Guinness World Record titles for most people stuffing backpacks with school supplies simultaneously and most backpacks stuffed with school supplies in one hour.
Once everyone was gathered around the giant cardboard boxes full of empty backpacks and new school supplies, the attempt went quickly – and Guinness World Records Adjudicator Michael Empric was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the employees were able to fill all the bags!
In just five minutes, they had already taken the title for simultaneous backpack stuffing, as 633 employees worked energetically to fill up the sacks.
And it only took another 15 minutes for them to break the title for most backpacks stuffed, previously held by Bazic Products in California.
Did you take part in this record-breaking back-to-school event? Head to the Guinness World Records store to get your own customizable Record Participant Certificate – you can claim one for stuffing the most backpacks in an hour, or most people filling the backpacks simultaneously!
“We did it!” said the AT&T representatives. “We officially hold the Guinness World Records title for most backpacks stuffed with school supplies in one hour and most people stuffing backpacks with school supplies simultaneously!”
Adjudicator Michael was thrilled to present the two certificates to the proud and energetic crowd, who cheered once he announced their place in the record books.
“It was a hot and humid morning, but the turnout and energy was amazing!” he said.
This AT&T Believes backpack stuffing event is part of a broader AT&T employee effort to help bridge the digital divide and distribute 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies and laptops to students in qualifying households before students head back to school.
This is part of AT&T’s initiative to help address the digital divide through internet accessibility, affordability and safe adoption. AT&T is committing $5 billion to help 25 million people get and stay connected to high-speed internet by 2030.
Congratulations to the AT&T family – you are Officially Amazing!