More than 2,000 volunteers were inside St. Paul RiverCentre Thursday, packing 60,000 backpacks full of school supplies.

It's all part of the Greater Twin Cities United Way's Action Day. When the event first started 10 years ago, they packed 6,000 backpacks, a far cry from the record 60,000 they are packing this year, which are sent off to roughly 130 nonprofits and school districts.

"Papers, pens, pencils, calculators, erasers, everything you need to be ready to start school," said John Wilgers, president and CEO at Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Leaders with United Way say there is a waiting list just to receive one of these backpacks. In 10 years, they said they have packed more than 370,000 of them.

It is all thanks to corporate and nonprofit partners, organizers said.

"Every once in a while we get a chance to go to those community centers and see how excited the young people are when they get to open the backpacks and see what's in there," said Shannon Smith Jones, senior vice president of community impact.

There's no doubt times are tough for families, with sky high costs and 30% to 35% of working families who can't make ends meet right now, United Way said. They said families will opt to instead pay for the necessities: food, utilities and rent — not school supplies.

It is about leveling the playing field, giving students what they need to succeed.

"Things are super expensive. Usually you get this big long list when your kids start school and so you have Kleenex, all these things and this takes a huge burden off young people. It allows all young people to walk through the doors with the same equipment, and there's no judgement where you can come in and feel like you're having a fresh start and well prepared for the school year," said Jones.