The Road Home Apple Tree Campaign to Provide New Clothing and Backpacks for More Than 100 Children — Community Can Help by Picking an Apple at Local Retailers.

A campaign to collect new back-to-school clothing, shoes and backpacks for more than 100 children living in The Road Home, a Salt Lake family homeless shelter, launched this week at 31 retail locations throughout the Wasatch Front.

The Road Home Apple Trees, located at Old Navy, DownEast, Payless ShoeSource, Salt Lake area Staples and Intrepid, provide an opportunity for the public to select an apple with the name of a child and purchase a needed back-to-school item for him or her. The items, which should be new and unused, can be donated at any of the 31 campaign partner locations from Orem to Ogden.

“We need the public’s help to provide basic back-to-school needs for each child living in The Road Home family shelter,” said Chris Thomas, president of Intrepid, which is organizing this year’s campaign. “Purchasing one extra item while doing your back-to-school shopping makes a big difference and will give each deserving child a boost of confidence and help them have a positive start to the new school year.”

At the completion of the campaign, which runs through Aug. 10, the clothing and backpacks will be delivered to The Road Home before the school year begins.

During the ten-year history of The Road Home Apple Tree, more than 27,000 articles of clothing and school supplies have been donated, benefitting more than 850 children living in The Road Home shelter. For more information about the program or to donate online, visit www.theroadhomeappletree.com.