Partners to End Poverty's Operation Fill A Backpack has officially wrapped up another successful year.

This year, the operation was able to fill 283 backpacks with school supplies for families in need in the Kelsey Trail Health Region. They credit the success of the operation to the help of the Hudson Bay Family & Support Centre, the Salvation Army, as well Partners to End Poverty partner organizations such as Girl Guides, and community volunteers.

"We have also begun to reduce the number of items on school supply lists through our productive partnership with the North East School Division, and we are now working on increasing the uniformity of requested supplies,"  Says Tim Onsrud, Coordinator for Partners to End Poverty.

Fluctuations in registrations and donations have been noticed in the past few years.  In Nipawin, the number of registrations shows a high need for supplies, however, the response from the community allowed for ample donations.  Tisdale had a wealth of donations despite a lower number of registrations.  Melfort trended upwards in registrations, but donations were down.

"This is only an issue of quantity, and not one of quality, as a number of organizations and individuals gave very generously.  Fortunately, with much-appreciated assistance from the Salvation Army, we were able to give backpacks with at least some school supplies to all of the families who signed up."  Onsrud added.

The operation has begun to expand, adding the community of Hudson Bay for the 2017-2018 school year.

Onsrud finished with "To everyone who participated in the 'Operation Fill-a-Backpack' poverty buster, we would like to sincerely thank you for helping to make a difference in the lives of these children."