Neal Communities Donates More Than $40,000 to 27th Annual BIG Backpack Event

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

^{The 27th annual BIG Backpack Event provided 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to area families with children ages 5 to 12.}

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (August 12, 2026) - The region’s largest private homebuilder, Neal Communities, and its trade partners raised a record amount of more than $40,000 as the presenting sponsor of the recent 27th Annual BIG Backpack Event.

Hosted by the Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida, the annual BIG Backpack Event provided 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to area families with children ages 5 to 12. More than 200 volunteers, including Neal Communities’ employees and trade partners, assisted with packing supplies and distribution at the event, which took place in a drive-thru at the Fort Myers Skatium. In its 27 years, the event has donated more than 50,000 backpacks. This year, families were also given a bag of food as the event partnered with the Community Cooperative Food Bank in Fort Myers.

“Neal Communities is proud to support this community event along with our employee volunteers and trade partners,” says Tim Oak, south region president of Neal Communities. “It’s great to begin the school year with an event that helps so many local families with important school supplies, allowing kids to hit the ground running on their first day of school.”

This was the 11^th consecutive year that Neal Communities was the presenting sponsor of the BIG Backpack Event, and this year’s donation was the largest to date collected by the homebuilder. With a core belief that “Where You Live Matters,” Neal Communities has given more than $8 million to local charities throughout Southwest Florida and is committed to the communities where they live, work and build.

The BIG Backpack Event provides children with new backpacks filled with pencils, pens, paper, crayons, folders and other essential back-to-school items as well as coupons and other giveaways.

For more information about the Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida, visit www.Multicultural-Centre.org. For more information about Neal Communities, visit www.NealCommunities.com.