This winter, dozens of unhoused people in the Richmond area are getting a little extra care thanks to the efforts of student leaders from the VCU School of Business.
Last semester, with support from a School of Business-backed student organization awards program, members of the VCU student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) coordinated the assembly and distribution of 48 “care backpacks” designed to provide immediate relief during the winter months to those without homes.
The project was born out of the students’ desire to engage more deeply with the urban environment surrounding the university.
“We don’t want to stay in our bubble where we have this privilege to go to university,” said Ella Henderson (B.S. ’26), SHRM vice president. “We want to interact with those that live in the community, those that need help or assistance.”
SHRM president Sarah Richman (B.S. ’26), a senior who commutes to campus, agreed. “Driving into the city, we unfortunately see homeless individuals,” she said. “Seeing and experiencing that, we wanted to give back.”
According to Henderson, the goal was to find the “most impactful” way to utilize the opportunity, and the team felt a hands-on service event offered the best way to engage the student community while addressing a local need.
Ultimately, the group chose to work with Backpacks for the Homeless RVA, a 12-year-old nonprofit, for its first-ever community service project.
Earnie Taylor, president and founder of Backpacks for the Homeless RVA, said that today the organization distributes between 1,500 and 1,600 annually. Taylor estimates he spends “at least 20 hours a week” speaking directly with people experiencing homelessness, supported by volunteers who distribute food, hygiene items and seasonal supplies across the city.
The contents of the backpacks have been curated by the people receiving them.
“You figure out from other people, especially the homeless, what it is that they would like to have in there, what doesn’t work,” he said. “Just about everything in there is all pretty purposeful and has worked for a while.”
Taylor’s standard backpacks include 23 hygiene items, shelf-stable food and socks, with cold-weather gear added in winter.
For the VCU event, students sorted items into three categories: food items like Slim Jims and crackers, hygiene products like soap and shampoo, and winter gear, such as hats, gloves, scarves and hand warmers. Many of the VCU-assembled backpacks will go toward a Southside Richmond shower program and the nonprofit’s next packing event.
The SHRM is a small organization, so the event was open to the broader student community. Still, Richman and Henderson were stunned at the turnout, which far exceeded their expectations.
“When [students] were checking in, a lot of them were very happy to participate in a service event without any incentive other than giving back,” said Henderson.
The students utilized HR principles — including volunteer coordination, process workflow and team management — to ensure all 48 backpacks were packed and quality-checked in under 45 minutes.
Funding came from the School of Business’ student organization awards program, administered by the School of Business Office of Student Engagement and supported by a School of Business Foundation grant. SHRM was selected for the ‘Event of the Year’ distinction, a recognition that provided the necessary resources to bring their vision for a community service project to life.
For more information about VCU’s student chapter of SHRM or Backpacks for the Homeless RVA, including upcoming packing events and ways to get involved, visit the organizations online or follow Backpacks for the Homeless RVA on Facebook.