More than 100 volunteers filled backpacks in record time this week in the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Station near the courthouse.
Within an hour of setting volunteers loose on an assembly line of school supplies Wednesday, close to 700 stuffed backpacks sat near the firehouse’s bay doors.
Firefighters will take the backpacks to Stafford schools before the first day of class. They will go to students whose families aren’t able to afford school supplies.
“Stafford is a wealthy county, but there is still a great amount of need,” said Mark Doyle, Stafford’s Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson.
Guidance counselors and social workers requested 535 backpacks this year. The extra bags will go to Head Start and other community groups.