Volunteers with AT&T broke two world records this week to help kids get ready for the next school year. They set records for the most backpacks filled with school supplies in one hour and most volunteers filling backpacks simultaneously.
Volunteers filled 10,000 backpacks in one hour breaking the previous record of 7,039. A total of 633 people were working simultaneously breaking the record of 255.
Both numbers were verfied by the Guiness Book of World Records.
"We have volunteer stewards who are here to monitor the participants and make sure they do stuff that backpack in the five minutes at the beginning," says Guiness Book of World Records Adjudicator Michael Empric.
Empric says he went through the crowd for spot-checks during the attempt to make sure backpacks were being filled with the right amount of each school supply.
"The best part for me is the Guiness World Record title is just the cherry on top," he says. "The key thing is these backpacks are going to go to kids who really need it, not just in the Dallas area but across the country."
"It's a great opportunity for employees to be engaged around AT&T's commitment around narrowing the digital divide," says Mylayna Albright, assistant vice president of corporate responsibility at AT&T.
Albright says AT&T will ultimately fill 30,000 backpacks with supplies and laptops to be shipped across the country but many will stay in the Metroplex. She says the company will work with non-profits like Dallas Innovation Alliance and Jewish Family Service to get supplies to kids who need them.
"A lot of local love will come from this initiative," she says.
Albright says the project benefits kids who will need supplies and computers for school but can also help entire families who need internet access.
"For us, it's about access, affordability and adoption," she says. "Even if they get a device and connectivity, they need to find things that help them find joy and success with their connection. Kids are digital natives, so they pick up on things quicker, but we're also focused on senior citizens and individuals who may not adopt it as easily."
She says AT&T hopes to connect an additional 25 million people to affordable high speed internet by 2030.