Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall helps local students gear up for back-to-school

Students in Barrie are getting a helping hand before the start of the school year thanks to Pie Education.

With the school year just around the corner, local students are getting a much-needed boost thanks to PIE Education, a charity co-founded by Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall.

This week, the organization handed out one of the most important back-to-school essentials: backpacks. On Friday, Mayor Nuttall met with families at Mulock Village in Newmarket to hand out backpacks filled with school supplies.

But it’s not just any backpack. Each one is filled with all of the supplies students need to succeed in the classroom.

This year marks the very first time York Region has joined the initiative and what a heartwarming way to start.

PIE Education, which stands for Providing Instruments for Excellence, is a “hand-up” initiative focused on helping underprivileged and at-risk children.

The goal is to build confidence, ease the return to school, and support positive connections with classmates. The long-standing program has supplied more than 15,000 filled backpacks to local students.

This year alone, 1,520 backpacks are being distributed to children in need across Simcoe County.