StreeHeat-Ministries, a Las Vegas-based charitable nonprofit, will be returning to Sedona with its second annual backpack drive for underserved students, which will focus on kindergarten through junior high school students, on Saturday, July 13, at Club Wyndham Sedona, 1500 Kestrel Circle, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The first event was very successful,” founder and president of StreeHeat-Ministries George Vaughn said about the previous drive, which distributed 120 backpacks filled with school supplies. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to continue these events and become an annual community event and most of all … everything stays in Sedona.”

Residents who are interested in donating school supplies for Sedona students may drop off items at Club Wyndham Sedona starting on Wednesday, July 10, through 2 p.m. on Friday, July 12. An additional dropoff location may be announced later. Items that are especially in demand for the drive include backpacks, binders and hand cleaning wipes.

Volunteers are needed on Friday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to assist with setup and organizing items. Beverages and snacks are provided for participants.

Additional volunteers are also needed the day of the event. The only major change to this year’s drive is that backpacks will be filled with grade-level appropriate supplies following feedback from the Sedona-Oak Creek School District and Sedona Charter School.

StreeHeat is celebrating its 14th year in operation. Their corporate office is located in Nevada, and in Sedona, they run a small distribution center focused on a back-to school program. In Illinois, they manage another small distribution center dedicated to providing food bags for the homeless. Their largest distribution center is in Las Vegas, where they focus on providing food for families in need. Each month, they serve an average of 250 to 300 families with food boxes and also organize another back-to-school drive in Las Vegas.

“We see a growing trend of average working-class people and low-income people that are in need, and that’s one of the things that we have experienced in Sedona,”

Vaughn said on trends that he has seen since the Las-Vegas back to- school drive started three years ago.

StreeHeat is continuing to look at expanding into Sedona with a permanent office space, but Vaughn said that the project has not yet raised enough funds in Arizona to commit to a two-to-three year lease.

“[Our] board of directors have put certain guidelines in place where in order for us to maintain [an] office there, we must generate enough revenue in Sedona to sustain that office,” Vaughn said. “Because we have everything separate, Las Vegas [has] different funds. Sedona has a different budget and we can’t take the money from Las Vegas and support Sedona, so we want to get Sedona where it’s self-sufficient and financially stable on its own … Everything we do in Sedona stays in Sedona.”

StreeHeat has once again applied for the city of Sedona’s Small Grant Program.

“Nothing has been approved, but we are more than confident that the city is going to support this program again,” Vaughn said. “We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from the city and they feel that the program is well-needed as well.”

“Children must be present with their parents or guardians to receive school supplies,” a StreeHeat pamphlet states. “Parents or guardians must be a Sedona resident. All non-resident children attending any Sedona school shall receive backpacks and school supplies, and must be with their parent or guardian. One backpack per child. Teacher participation, input, and recommendations are welcome.”

To sign up to volunteer, contact George Vaughn at (702) 271-5155