FORT LAUDERDALE – (August 11, 2025) – Hundreds of students across Broward County will walk into their first day of school equipped with brand-new backpacks and essential supplies, thanks to a generous community effort led by Fleet Advantage, and its charitable arm, the Kids Around the Corner (KATC) Foundation.  In partnership with the Broward Education Foundation, the only 501(c)(3) organization solely dedicated to serving Broward County Public Schools, this year’s Back-to-School Backpack Drive positively impacted more than 1,000 local students.

As part of the Broward Education Foundation’s annual Back to School Supply Drive, which last year generated over $2 million in supplies for more than 130,000 students, Fleet Advantage successfully distributed 1,068 backpacks filled with essential supplies to students in Title I elementary schools. Backpacks were handed out personally by Fleet Advantage employees during school Meet and Greet events at the following locations on Friday, August 8:

Each backpack is tailored to support students across all grade levels and includes items such as notebooks, crayons, glue sticks, earbuds, calculators, pens, pencils, and more. The Fleet Advantage team carefully assembled and distributed the backpacks on site directly to students, creating a meaningful and engaging experience  that resonated with families and school staff alike.

This year’s drive built on the success of last year’s impactful initiative, when Fleet Advantage assembled 200 backpacks—its largest effort at the time—for high school-aged children served by Henderson Behavioral Health. Fleet Advantage employees packed the backpacks during lunch breaks, and they were delivered to Henderson’s Youth & Family Program in Tamarac. In addition, KATC made monetary donations to both Henderson Behavioral Health and Kids In Distress to further support their back-to-school outreach and future youth programming.

“Every child deserves a fair chance at a quality education,” said James A. Knapp, President & CEO of Broward Education Foundation. “By providing students with the tools they need, we’re helping build their confidence and self-esteem—both of which are essential for effective learning. We are thankful to partners like Fleet Advantage for their commitment to uplifting Broward County’s Title I students.”

“Our Kids Around the Corner Foundation is committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work,” said Elizabeth Gomez, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach for Fleet Advantage. “We are honored to support the incredible efforts of the Broward Education Foundation and excited to help these students begin the new school year with the tools they need to succeed.”

The Broward Education Foundation’s broader 2025 School Supply Drive runs through August 29, with many ways for the public to get involved—from hosting virtual drives to sponsoring schools and providing essential classroom supplies. Most needed items include backpacks, composition books, folders, highlighters, index cards, hand sanitizer, pencils, markers, and child-safe scissors.

For more information on Fleet Advantage’s Kids Around the Corner Foundation and to view all of the charities the foundation has contributed to since its inception in 2014, please visit www.fleetadvantage.com/community-outreach.

About Fleet Advantage 

Fleet Advantage is the largest independent lessor for heavy-duty Class-8 trucks and has over $3 Billion in assets and over 30,000 units under its Life Cycle Cost Management program. This comprises a client portfolio of more than 50 of America’s top corporate fleets, including five (5) of the top 10 private fleets in the country. Fleet Advantage guarantees the absolute lowest cost of operation by providing fleet asset management, financing solutions, and fleet analytics, using the latest equipment technology to achieve optimum vehicle productivity and maximum safety. Our model of TCO, clean diesel, and safety-enhanced trucks with shorter life cycles complement our customers’ ESG goals. The accomplishments of Fleet Advantage and our leadership team continue to be recognized for tremendous growth and industry leadership with numerous awards, including Top Private Independent and Most Innovative Firm by the Monitor Daily, Top Software & Tech Awards, Top Women Associates in Finance, and Green Supply Chain Awards to name a few. The company has also been named to Inc. magazine’s 500|5000 list of fastest growing companies in the nation.

About Kids Around the Corner

Kids Around the Corner was founded in 2014 by Fleet Advantage to support the needs of the communities where their employees and clients live and work. Fleet Advantage has committed to donating a percentage of its profits to children’s charities each year on behalf of their customers.

About Broward Education Foundation

The nonprofit Broward Education Foundation aligns with Broward County Public Schools by providing grants for teachers who develop innovative curriculum that increases student outcomes; vitally needed school supplies for students and teachers; scholarships for qualified high school seniors; and support for programs and initiatives. Each year, Broward Education Foundation contributes more than $4 million to Broward County schools, serving as the catalyst for educational excellence. For information visit Broward Education Foundation, email BEFInfo@browardschools.com, like or follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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