The Prudential CARES National Backpack Challenge helped outfit The Arc of Essex County’s Stepping Stones School with hundreds of supplies needed to start the new school year in September.

Employees from Prudential’s BRG ADAPT group collectively donated more than 40 backpacks and kindergarten supply kits, as well as dozens of packages of construction paper, sidewalk chalk, glue, beginner pencils, erasers, paint sets, notebooks, pencil cases, and playground balls. The group exceeded the requested numbers for all of the items that Stepping Stones needed, and eased the back-to-school supply burden on families and teachers going into the 2023-24 school year.

“ADAPT, Prudential’s employee-led Business Resource Group focusing on disabilities, identified The Arc of Essex County as a natural partner for the Backpack Challenge due to The Arc’s extensive support of school-age children and their families,” said Brad Caprari, Prudential’s Vice President of Financial Reporting. “ADAPT’s members were excited to donate school supplies to the Stepping Stones School and look forward to collaborating with The Arc of Essex County to identify additional opportunities for Prudential and its employees.”

Prudential Financial’s Backpack Challenge is a signature campaign that has collected more than 85,000 backpacks in over 1,000 locations since 1999, providing kids from various communities with the supplies they need to start the school year prepared and ready to learn. This program is one of the many ways Prudential is working with nonprofit partners across the country to make lives better by solving the financial challenges of a changing world. In 2023, Prudential expanded the program to a virtual platform through YouGiveGoods to include additional nonprofit partnerships and impact the lives of even more kids.

The Arc is grateful for Prudential’s support of Stepping Stones School and for Prudential employees’ generosity. To learn more about the Backpack Challenge, visit https://yougivegoods.com/prucares.

The Arc of Essex County’s Stepping Stones School is a Department of Education approved private school for students with disabilities serving children ages 3-10.  Located in Roseland, NJ, the school is designed to meet the developmental and educational needs of children with cognitive impairments such as Down syndrome and other students with similar educational and developmental needs.  For more information, or to request a virtual tour and assistance with an out-of-district placement, contact Robin Moses, Director of Early Childhood and Education at (862) 210-8781 or rmoses@arcessex.org.