Families on the northwest side can pick up school supplies and celebrate the start of a new year at OrthoIndy Foundation YMCA’s Back to School Fest.

The free community event will provide 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students attending with a parent or guardian.

The celebration will also feature bounce houses, games, community vendors and a football clinic, as well as free food, prizes and giveaways.

Attendees may also get the chance to meet Michael Jerrell, an offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons who went to Pike High School.

The Back to School Fest will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 11 at Pike High School, 6801 Zionsville Road. Attendees are asked to enter from Zionsville Road.

There’s no cost to attend, but you can register in advance online. More information is available on the YMCA’s website.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletters.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

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Get free backpacks, food at northwest Indy back-to-school fest

by Carley Lanich, Mirror Indy
July 6, 2026

<h1>Get free backpacks, food at northwest Indy back-to-school fest</h1> <p class="byline">by Carley Lanich, Mirror Indy <br />July 6, 2026</p> <p>Families on the northwest side can pick up school supplies and celebrate the start of a new year at <a href="https://indymca.org/orthoindy-foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OrthoIndy Foundation YMCA’s</a> Back to School Fest.</p> <p>The free community event will provide 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students attending with a parent or guardian.</p> <p>The celebration will also feature bounce houses, games, community vendors and a football clinic, as well as free food, prizes and giveaways.</p> <p>Attendees may also get the chance to meet Michael Jerrell, an offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons who went to <a href="https://phs.pike.k12.in.us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pike High School</a>.</p> <p>The Back to School Fest will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 11 at Pike High School, <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/khQfQ66auaoSwrHb6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6801 Zionsville Road</a>. Attendees are asked to enter from Zionsville Road.</p> <p>There’s no cost to attend, but you can <a href="https://secure.qgiv.com/for/orthoindyfoundationymcaannual/event/backtoschoolfestival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">register in advance online</a>. More information is available on <a href="https://indymca.org/events/back-to-school-fest-oif/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the YMCA’s website</a>.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/back-school-festival-pike-high-school-indy-northwest-side-orthoindy-foundation-ymca-summer-2026/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=84449&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/back-school-festival-pike-high-school-indy-northwest-side-orthoindy-foundation-ymca-summer-2026/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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