A backpack is more than just an accessory where we store things. It’s a means of
transportation. Inside, among pencils, notebooks, erasers, and books, there’s always room to carry dreams as far as imagination will allow.
Those “bultos,” as they’re called in some corners of the Caribbean, now rest on the shoulders of thousands of children in North Philadelphia. In them, they will carry everything they need to be ready for the new school year, after gathering for the fifteenth annual “Back to School” Carnival organized by Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
The summer sky set the backdrop for this event, where hundreds of families came to leave with everything they needed for the classroom on their backs, and in their hearts, a day filled with games, food, reading, and learning.
Public and private institutions joined forces to offer, in addition to the backpacks, food, experiences, ice cream, face painting for the children, video games, and a wide range of health, wellness, and community services for residents of this sector of the City of Brotherly Love.
Boys and girls enjoyed countless activities where they could play and have fun.
Over the course of its fifteen editions, the Carnival has benefited around 15,000 people.
A date with hope Renee Turchi, pediatrician and event organizer, expressed her wish “for the children to know that there are people in the world who care about them, who love them, and who want them to have a good start to the school year with their new backpacks. We all need hope.”
With that same hope, Amelia Rippo packs her daughter’s backpack every day, adding to her school supplies a stuffed animal so that, in her words, “it reminds her that I am always with her.” She wants to support her daughter’s dream of growing, learning, and becoming a doctor, because, as she says, “learning is what takes you to higher levels and opens doors for you.”
The same doors Inés hopes to open with her dream of becoming a veterinarian, or Amariles with her wish to see her daughter become a professional, or the children who painted their faces to look like their favorite superheroes, or the volunteers and institutions who donated their time and energy so that a backpack could become the vehicle to carry dreams beyond the imaginable.