LEE COUNTY, Fla.- Thousands of parents are dreading the start of the new school year in a couple weeks. They might have to send their kids back without a backpack. A local girl is working to change that, with your help. As most kids squeeze out the last days of summer fun, Lupita Salcedo is hard at work. She’s doing something even seasoned sales people sometimes dread. Salcedo is making cold calls, asking for money. “I decided to give it back, because the community always needs help. Everyone needs a lift in life.” The donations are for The Big Backpack Event at Harborside Event Center, and Salcedo knows the payoff personally. “It feels like you’re just an alien, because you’re not like the other kids. Other kids have crayons and everything and you’re just there like, ‘I want that, but I can’t.'” For five years, she and her mom counted on the free backpacks and supplies. “It just gave me so much relief for so many years to know that I’m coming prepared to school and I don’t have to stress about, oh my God, my mom’s going to have to count everything. She’s going to work so much in the fields just to get me a book bag.” It’s the fate of thousands of families and their kids who just want to fit it on the first day. “It’s incredible how people come. Some even camp, because it’s such a difference to them.” At the event, the first 2,000 students ages 5-12 will get a free backpack with supplies. The event also includes free haircuts, entertainment, and a face-painting booth. Just $10 covers the cost of one backpack filled with supplies. The Multicultural Centre will give away the backpacks from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. on August 2. Click here to donate and for more information.