Dollar Tree, Operation Homefront to collect school supplies for military children

Operation Homefront’s annual Back-to-School Brigade is returning to serve military families across the nation with the help of its longtime corporate partner Dollar Tree. The program provides military children with backpacks and school supplies collected primarily through Dollar Tree customer donations.

From mid-July through August, supplies donated by customers at more than 7,800 participating Dollar Tree stores nationwide will be collected by Operation Homefront volunteers and distributed to military families at more than 120 Back-to-School Brigade events and with local community partners throughout the country.

Operation Homefront is poised to reach a major milestone this year, distributing its 500,000th backpack to military children since the program was launched in 2008, saving military families more than $55 million in back-to-school expenses, the nonprofit said. 

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“Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Dollar Tree and tens of thousands of their amazing customers, we expect to deliver our 500,000th backpack filled with essential school supplies this year through our highly valued Back-to-School Brigade program,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “An incredible milestone worth celebrating, particularly as many of the military families we serve have tight budgets, and with inflation on the rise, we know they greatly appreciate opportunities to be able to save their scarce resources to pay for other critical needs.”

Dollar Tree is a longtime advocate of military families. Since the Operation Homefront partnership began in 2006, Dollar Tree and its customers have provided millions of dollars and in-kind donations to the nonprofit’s recurring programs.

“It has been amazing to see the impact Operation Homefront has had on military families since our partnership began 16 years ago,” said Chelle Davis, a Dollar Tree spokesperson. “Dollar Tree is incredibly thankful for the continuous support from our valued customers, and we are proud to continue our work with this wonderful organization.”

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In addition to its support of Back-to-School Brigade, Dollar Tree has supported Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance program for military families in need. The nonprofit is nearing the fulfillment of its 50,000th request through that program, providing more than $35 million in critical financial assistance to military families.

The Back-to-School Brigade program is made possible through the generosity of additional partners, including CSX, SAIC, Navy Federal Credit Union, Peraton and Sesame Street for Military Families.