Back 2 School

Back 2 School Illinois (B2SI) is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to provide educational opportunities that enrich the lives of Illinois children. Formerly known as the Illinois Currency Exchange Charitable Foundation, B2SI operates the largest free school supplies program in the state, which serves to equip children of low-income households for success in the classroom while lessening the financial burden felt by their families. The long-term goal of B2SI is to provide the estimated one million children from low-income families each year with the school supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.

Created in 2010 by the Community Currency Exchange Association of Illinois (CCEA), an organization that represents more than 350 “check cashing” stores in Illinois, B2SI will continue to expand the original vision of the CCEA through the free school supplies program as well as a college scholarship and a Power UP! Boot Camp programs, which teaches children about the importance of exercise and nutrition.

2016 Annual Report

Purchasing Details for Buying Kits

If you are interested in buying kits to give your employees, customers, a local school or community organization, here are all the details and the form you will use to order them. While Back 2 School Illinois can order kits for you at any time of the year if you are looking to distribute your kits during the traditional back to school season, you should place your order by June 30 to ensure delivery for August.

The price for each kit is $15 (retail value of approximately $30).

For more information and to place an order, click here.

If you would like to see the list of the supplies that go into each of the four types of kits, click here.

Each year B2SI offers sponsorships of it’s flagship school supplies program. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please click here.

2017 Back 2 School Program Recap

Here is a great opportunity to do a team building exercise for company employees or a community group. With our “Build A Kit” program, we ship school supplies in bulk, which can then be assembled into our Back 2 School for distribution to the individuals or group of your choosing. For complete details on how to host a “Build A Kit’ event, click here.