As the new school year approaches, community groups, health providers, churches and businesses across metro Phoenix and other Arizona cities are staging a series of back-to-school events to distribute free supplies to students and families. Offerings range from pre-filled backpacks to clothing, hygiene items, haircuts, dental screenings and school-appropriate footwear. Many of the distributions operate on a first-come, first-served basis and require children to be present to receive items.
A prepackaged bag of free school supplies — pencils, notebooks, a highlighter and informational flyer — at a back-to-school giveaway in metro Phoenix.
One of the larger recurring efforts this summer is the Lerner & Rowe backpack giveaway, which sends supply-filled backpacks to several Arizona locations. These are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and students must be present to receive a backpack. Scheduled stops include a July 9 evening distribution at the Arizona Athletic Grounds, 6321 S. Ellsworth Road in Mesa; a July 11 distribution at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, 2520 E. 32nd St. in Yuma; a July 13 stop at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.; and a July 17 event in Phoenix’s West Valley with the time and exact location to be announced. Additional information and any updates are posted on the program’s event page: https://lernerandrowe.com/free-backpacks/.
Family-focused drives are also on local calendars. In Surprise, a Back to School Confidence Drive will set up an opportunity for families to select free clothing, shoes, backpacks, hygiene products and school supplies during an evening event on July 10 at 14763 W. Cactus Road. Adelante Healthcare is hosting a series of outdoor, first-come, first-served back-to-school events across several of its Valley locations; those events distribute free backpacks and school supplies, and they, too, ask that students be present. Adelante’s schedule includes July 11 distributions at its Surprise site (15351 W. Bell Road) and its Mesa clinic (1705 W. Main St.), and July 25 events at the Goodyear location (13471 W. Cornerstone Blvd.) and the West Phoenix site (9610 N. Metro Parkway West). More information can be found on Adelante Healthcare’s event page: https://adelantehealthcare.com/2026-back-to-school-party/.
Multiple Phoenix-area nonprofits and churches are hosting larger community gatherings combining entertainment and services with supply distributions. Teen Challenge Arizona’s Back to School Bash is set for 9-11 a.m. on July 18 at the Teen Challenge Greater Phoenix Men's Center, 1515 Grand Ave., and will include games, food, live entertainment and school supply giveaways. The same morning at Imagine Desert Middle School, 6800 W. McDowell Road, organizers will run a Community Backpack Giveaway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering backpacks filled with school materials while supplies last alongside food, activities and on-site haircuts. Another local program, the 2nd Annual Backpack to the Future sponsored by Elmm Law Group, is scheduled for July 22 from 1-3 p.m. at Maurice C. Cash Elementary School, 5000 S. Sandomir Way, where K-5 students will receive school supplies, water bottles and Kona Ice snow cones. Event pages provide details and any updates: https://give.tcaz.org/event/2026-17th-annual-back-to-school-bash/e799753 and https://getgordi.com/backpack-to-the-future-event/.
Neighboring cities are staging their own multi-service events. Glendale’s Get Ready 4 School Glendale plans to hand out 1,000 backpacks filled with supplies to school-aged children on a first-come, first-served basis — children must be present to receive a backpack — and will also provide breakfast, haircuts and dental screenings. That event runs 8-11 a.m. July 18 at the GESD System of Care Center, 7677 W. Bethany Home Road. Also on July 18, Vineyard North Phoenix will host a first-come, first-served Back to School Giveaway offering free backpacks, supplies and sports physicals from 8-9:30 a.m. at 6250 W. Peoria Ave. In Mesa, a community event hosted by the CBI Mesa Prevention Alliance is open to all K-12 students and will include free backpacks, haircuts, socks and other items from 8:30 a.m. to noon on July 25 at Mesa High School, 1630 E. Southern Ave. Event organizers have posted more information on their public calendars and Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/GESD40/posts/pfbid0245oFXmc1iEpWMXR7ekr37YhfGmAwtcGrdWXyLk7D1q8k5hfJKCDHyfyFRXCnFCo2l, https://vineyardnorthphoenix.com/backtoschool/, and https://communitybridgesinc.org/back-to-school-event/.
There are also targeted distributions and opportunities tied to specific communities. Operation Homefront will run Back to School Brigade events in Glendale and Tucson that provide school supplies to eligible dependents of service members; families must register for full details and eligibility requirements at https://operationhomefront.org/events/?state=arizona&event-type=#ListingTitle. For those looking to donate rather than receive supplies, Fulton Homes and radio station 98KUPD are operating a Stuff the Bus Challenge at Chandler Fashion Center. Shoppers can bring backpacks and other school supplies to donate in person; the mall is hosting collection drives on June 20 and June 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at 3111 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. The mall promotion includes the opportunity for donors to receive free items from mall vendors while supplies last: https://www.shopchandlerfashioncenter.com/Events/StuffTheBus.
Each event lists its own rules and inventory; several explicitly note that supplies are available only while they last and that students must accompany adults to claim backpacks. Organizers encourage families to check the event pages or contact hosts for the latest information on locations, times and any documentation that may be needed. The summer calendar across the Valley and in other Arizona communities features a mix of one-day festivals, clinic-hosted distributions and recurring giveaway stops designed to help families prepare for the coming school year.
Families outside metro Phoenix can also attend the Back to School Bash hosted by United Way of Pinal County and Invenergy on July 9 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Casa Grande. The free event provides school supplies, books, giveaways, games, a live DJ, food trucks, balloon animals and community resources. Details at volunteerpinal.org and pcceh.com.
The Salvation Army in the Phoenix area is running a "Backpack SOS" donation drive from July 7–27, 2026, accepting backpacks and school-supply donations at Fry’s Food Store locations and advising families to contact their local Salvation Army corps or Family Services (phone number listed by the organization) for help obtaining supplies.
The Salvation Army in Tucson plans a Back to School Shopping Spree on Saturday, July 18, 2026, that will serve about 150 children; each child invited to the event will receive a $150 gift card for clothing and shoes plus a backpack filled with school supplies.
The City of Yuma is coordinating a push to fill 2,000 backpacks for its 2026 Back to School Rodeo on July 11, 2026, and is asking community groups and businesses to donate school-materials through the end of June to meet that goal.
Arizona Mills in Tempe is running a back-to-school supply drive for the Tempe School District from June 1 through July 12, 2026, with drop-off at the mall management office or a school-bus collection point near the food court; the posted supply list includes backpacks, spiral and composition notebooks, pencils, markers/colored pencils, folders and other basics.
The Foster Alliance’s Phoenix Resource Center will offer backpacks and school supplies to foster families beginning July 7, 2026, through August during its posted resource hours; foster families are asked to bring photo ID and Notice to Providers, and groups needing five or more backpacks are asked to coordinate ahead of time.