Plainfield And Amazon Donate Backpacks To Local Students

The city of Plainfield faced many hardships this summer from heavy storms and flooding, but local volunteers were able to help the community start off fresh for the new school year.

The Historic Society of Plainfield collaborated with Amazon to provide families with free backpacks and other school supplies. This giveaway took place outside the city’s historic Drake House Museum on Tuesday, with Amazon volunteers and members of the Historical Society handing bookbags to local residents.

The event drew a massive crowd, as several children and parents began gathering early on this sunny Tuesday morning to receive these generous donations. Amazon also donated 500 pairs of shoes to residents, which were given away later that day.

“It’s very heartwarming, and it’s just incredible that so many people showed up,” said Nancy Piwowar, the Historical Society’s president, “And we even had people here at 7:15 waiting. So that’s how great the need was, and we just want to have a social impact for the city of Plainfield.”

Recipients include Iman Damon, a 33-year-old mother born and raised in Plainfield, who came to the Drake House Museum to obtain a backpack for her 10-year-old son, Tristan.

“So we’re really excited to be here…,” said Iman. “All the devastation that happened a month ago was pretty bad for us. A lot of people lost a lot of things. And so to see [Amazon] giving out the book bags and to help us and give money back is really supportive.”

In a speech, Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp expressed his gratitude to everyone for their support following a harrowing month for Plainfield, addressing the severe thunderstorm and flash flood that “wreaked havoc” on the city in July.

“And unfortunately, four innocent souls were lost in those two weather events. And so we felt as if July was a month from hell in the city of Plainfield. But that is now behind us, and we’re looking forward, and we appreciate all that,” said Mapp.

One of these weather events nearly prevented the giveaway at the museum from ever occurring. Over 750 backpacks and other school supplies were ready to be donated to Plainfield residents in July, before Amazon got involved. However, the severe flooding that occurred in Plainfield during that month left these donations completely destroyed.

While this dealt a heavy blow to the Historical Society’s plans, Piwowar saw an urgent need to bring positive change to her community, especially after losing some of her neighbors to the July flooding.

“Usually in the summer, we take a break. But we all saw the need, and we needed to have a social impact after the devastating month of July,” said Piwowar.

Smitha Rao, the Regional Media Lead at Amazon, discussed how the company decided to give back to the community by donating backpacks and supplies. After Plainfield reached out to Amazon, sharing their plight, Rao and her team raced to replace all 750 backpacks that were destroyed in the flood with only a week’s notice.

“It’s such an incredible feeling to be able to know that what you’re doing is helping the community,” said Rao. “In this case…it’s a community that’s been through so much hardship in recent times. And so, to be able to be here today and see the smiles on these children when they’re receiving the backpacks is just incredible.”

Though Plainfield continues to rebuild after such devastating storms, the Historical Society and Amazon’s generous giveaway have left a positive impact on its residents. After many locals have received donations, this collaborative effort brought smiles to families and helped the community move one step forward from such a difficult time. 

“The storm surge challenged us all,” said Piwowar, “requiring perseverance to overcome, and we persisted.”