Verizon to give away backpacks Sunday at Quincy, Macomb stores; 10 students nationwide will be ‘Golden Ruler’ winners

QUINCY — Round Room, a Verizon-authorized retailer, is having its 12th annual “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway” event at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 28. Hundreds of families can receive a free backpack. With 42 percent of U.S. parents saying they will go into debt to pay for their child(ren)’s back-to-school items, there has never been a greater need to provide additional support and resources.

Local retail locations for backpack distribution (one per child present) are at 3011 Broadway in Quincy and 1736C E. Jackson in Macomb. Round Room will be giving more than $3 million worth of backpacks to children at more than 1,000 of its stores nationwide. Any leftover backpacks at “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway” events will be donated to local schools of each store’s choice. More than 120,000 backpacks will be given away nationwide.

Ten lucky students will be “Golden Ruler” winners. One backpack at 10 random stores across the country will contain a golden ruler keychain. Those who receive a backpack with a golden ruler keychain will receive a $100 Visa gift card to help with other back-to-school related costs such as new shoes, lunchboxes, writing supplies, technology and textbooks. Additionally, the school that the Golden Ruler winners will attend for the 2024-25 school year will receive a $1,000 Amazon Wishlist buyout.

Round Room has provided more than 1.3 million children with a backpack since the event’s inception.