A new school year brings with it a renewed sense of hope, and, of course, that familiar first-day-of-school excitement.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Family Service of Rhode Island (FSRI) has officially launched a virtual Back to School drive that will run through September. This year those who wish to support FSRI's back-to-school efforts can donate supplies by selecting items on the FSRI Back to School Wishlist - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/37J6C2C9E833I/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex.

You can also donate online by texting FSRI4STUDENTS to 44-321. All monetary donations will be for purchasing supplies.

"Back to school in Rhode Island looks different this year, but that doesn't change the fact that students still need school supplies," said Maggie Slane, who is overseeing FSRI's Virtual Back to School Supply drive. "But In these challenging times the families FSRI serves need assistance, since many are more worried about buying food and paying the rent than budgeting for school supplies.

FSRI is pleased to have already received over 200 lunchboxes from Fit Fresh (https://fit-fresh.com/pages/contact-us) , a pioneer and leader in fashionable lunch ware, based in Providence. "We are thrilled to support our community by donating lunch bags and accessories to those who many not have access to such products," said Stephanie Gomes from Fit Fresh. We hope students, teachers and parents will have a brighter day thanks to these donations."

Suggested supplies include backpacks, earphones, composition notebooks (wide ruled), spiral notebooks, construction paper, copy paper, pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, crayons, highlighters, post-it notes, glue sticks, tape rolls, student scissors, and other office supplies.

Families that might be in need of assistance can visit https://bit.ly/3jEagv7 for additional information. The drive will end Oct. 2.