Through Friday, Aug. 22, St. Vinnie’s store customers can “round up” their purchases at the register in support of Project Hope, a back-to-school fundraiser to supply local K-12 students with new backpacks, shoes and socks for the coming school year. St. Vinnie’s locations in Eugene, Springfield, Junction City and Florence also have in-store donation barrels where community members can drop off those new, unused items for local students.
Project Hope is a program of One Hope Network offered through the school districts of Eugene, Springfield, Junction City and Florence. It will serve about 3,500 children from low-income families this year, culminating with the distribution of needed materials during five Project Hope Kids’ Fair Giveaways on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-24.
St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County (SVdP) is among about 100 nonprofits, churches and businesses teaming with Project Hope for the 2025 back-to-school giveaway.
“We are excited to support the very worthy cause that Project Hope represents,” says SVdP Executive Director Bethany Cartledge. “We encourage St. Vinnie’s shoppers to join us over the next couple of weeks to help local families send their kids back to school well-prepared for a happy, healthy year of learning and growth. As we’ve seen with so many financially distressed families in our shelter and housing programs, the confidence and academic performance of their kids can soar when they’re able to head back to school with new clothes and supplies.”
In other Oregon communities where St. Vinnie’s operates retail-thrift stores — Albany, Salem, Oakridge and The Dalles — round-up donations during this fundraising effort will support back-to-school material drives in partnership with other agencies in those locales.
Project Hope coordinating sign-ups
SVdP is partnering in this effort strictly to help raise funds and collect donations of new shoes, socks and backpacks. Project Hope will coordinate sign-ups and giveaway events through the participating school districts.
Families needing help should visit their local districts’ websites, where they’ll find a link to a ticket for the program. Through the ticketing process, families can sign up their kids for some or all of the offerings and learn more about the pickup process. Tickets will be available through participating districts starting Monday, Aug. 18 at 7 a.m.
More information
Visit Project Hope’s FAQ page to learn more about how the program operates. See this list of locations to find a St. Vinnie’s store near you where you can make round-up donations or drop off new supplies.