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Over 700 Backpacks Delivered: Recapping Operation Backpack 2026
More than 700 backpacks delivered across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana
Operation Backpack 2026 is officially in the books, and it is our biggest year yet. This summer, Furniture Fair teammates, customers, and neighbors across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana came together to fill and deliver more than 700 backpacks packed with essential school supplies for local students.
This was our fourth summer partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs and Volunteers of America, and every year the program has grown. Last summer's drive collected four times more supplies than the year before it, and this year topped them all with more than 700 backpacks. Here is a look at what your donations accomplished across all four of our regions.
The 2026 Results by Region
Backpacks and supply boxes staged for donation pickup
Cincinnati's 400 backpacks went to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, an organization serving 2,400 club members across the region. In Indianapolis, deliveries were split between the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis and Indianapolis Public Schools. Dayton's backpacks supported the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton, and in Louisville, Volunteers of America programs like Unity House and Neighborhood Place put supplies directly into students' hands.
What These Backpacks Mean to Students
Numbers only tell part of the story. In the video below, Craig Daniels, our Marketing Director, sits down with Aubrey from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati to talk about what a stocked backpack actually does for a kid on the first day of school.
Craig Daniels and Aubrey discuss Operation Backpack at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati
One part of the conversation stuck with us. When we asked Aubrey what the donation means for her club members, she did not talk about notebooks and pencils. She talked about what a kid feels at a desk on the first day of school:
Instead of sitting there at a desk and wondering, oh, I don't have a pencil or a notebook, and I'm different from my peers, they can fully focus on engaging in the lesson.
Aubrey, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati
She also described what the donation really removes: the worry. Parents and students do not have to figure out where the school supplies are coming from. Kids can arrive prepared, and through the club's Power Hour program, they are working on math and reading so they can start the school year ready to keep pace with their classmates.
Behind the Scenes at Our Greenwood Store
Greenwood store manager Chris Anastasio and sales associate Desmond Taylor with donated supplies during the Wild Weekend sale
None of this happens by itself. At our Greenwood store, manager Chris Anastasio and sales associate Desmond Taylor, dressed in safari guide outfits for our annual Wild Weekend sale, gathered and staged hundreds of donated backpacks and supplies.
From there, our own in-house delivery drivers, the same team that delivers furniture to homes across the tristate, made sure everything arrived on time. If you have ever wondered what happens after you drop a pack of pencils in a donation bin, this is it: real people, real boxes, real mileage.
Our Community Showed Up
FOX 59 Indy Now
Indianapolis broadcast coverage of the drop-off
WLWT Channel 5
Cincinnati news visits the warehouse as backpacks ship out
Local news helped spread the word this year. FOX 59's Indy Now featured our Indianapolis drop-off, and Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5 visited the warehouse as backpacks headed out to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati.
And it was not just media coverage. Local businesses dropped off whole boxes of supplies at our showrooms, and customers added backpacks to their furniture orders all summer. Small contributions added up to more than 700 backpacks, and that is a community effort.
Share Bear Says Thank You
Marketing Director Craig Daniels with Share Bear during the 2026 drive
Share Bear, our ambassador of community care, wants to thank every customer, business, and neighbor who contributed. Whether you donated a single box of crayons or sponsored an entire pallet, you put school supplies in the hands of more than 700 students across Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Dayton, and Louisville.
We are already thinking about next year. If you missed this year's drive, you can read how it all started in our kickoff post, see our first year's results, or visit our Community page to learn about the other local organizations we support year round.