With the new school year fast approaching and a core mission of helping the underserved, Northwell Health volunteers packed school supplies into book bags on August 10-11 bound for children of all ages across Long Island, New York City and Westchester regions.

Tapping into nearly $50,000 in donations from employees as well as a grant from New York State’s largest health system, Northwell volunteers assembled more than 2,000 backpacks and stuffed them with classroom staples such as notebooks, colored pencils and glue sticks. The backpack drive — which culminated in a two-day New Hyde Park and Manhattan warehouse packing marathon — is in collaboration with Suffolk-based nonprofit Supplies for Success and will benefit children in the Riverhead, Roosevelt and Westbury school districts, as well as at 11 faith- and community-based organizations throughout the region.

“The backpacks are filled with much-needed supplies for students and Northwell Health will distribute them to three different school districts and 11 community- and faith-based organizations to target children in need,” said Jordana Zangwill, Northwell’s associate vice president for corporate social responsibility. “These volunteers want to make an impact in the communities that we serve and help students in these communities start the year off right.”