Bernalillo County deputies deliver school supplies to 32 families

Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies delivered school supplies to 32 families, filling more than 70 backpacks with loose-leaf paper, pencils, glue, notebooks and other items for 76 children. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office hosted the Pack the Backpack event as families across Bernalillo County and Albuquerque prepare for the school year.

The effort was targeted but wide enough to reach more than one child in many households, a sign of how quickly back-to-school costs add up when parents are buying supplies for several students at once. By the department’s count, the backpacks went to 32 families with 76 kids, turning a supply drive into direct help for households facing the seasonal strain of school expenses.

The sheriff’s office said it sees the need in the low-income communities it serves, and the backpack giveaway fits that broader role. In addition to the event, the department is accepting school supply donations at all of its substations for elementary through high school students, extending the effort beyond a single day and giving families another way to get help before classes begin.

For Bernalillo County, the need is measured not only in backpacks filled but in how many children still need basic classroom items before the first bell rings. The sheriff’s office’s donation drive points to a larger question that local schools and families know well each August: how many students are starting the year without the paper, pencils and notebooks teachers expect on day one.