By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
School starts soon for local students and First Call for Help is again providing free backpacks filled with school supplies for low income families in Ellis County.
Those who registered for Backpacks for Kids, are picking them up today until 6p.m. in the Hays Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh, on the first floor.
Coordinator Laura Shoaff expects more than 600 backpacks will be given away this year.
“We do a pre-K, a (grades) 1 through 5, a 6 through 8, and then high school backpacks. So those kids will all be getting the same supplies according to their grade level. It’ll all be age-appropriate and off the school lists in Hays, Victoria and Ellis,” Shoaff explained.
Personal hygiene items, including soap, shampoo, and toothpaste and toothbrushes, are also included.
If there are any backpacks left over Thursday, Shoaff said the remaining ones will be available for pick-up Friday morning from 8 until noon in the same location.
First Call for Help has organized the Backpacks for Kids program for more than 12 years.
Nex-Tech and Nex-Tech Wireless in Hays have jointly helped solicit donations of school supplies for the project the past eight years. Jenny Leiker, Nex-Tech senior marketing analyst and Corrina Hudsonpillar, Nex-Tech Wireless marketing supervisor, delivered two full vans of supplies to FCFH which were sorted and packed into the backpacks by other volunteers.
“When we first started doing this program, we would take the (school supplies) list and put everything on there and sometimes we would get 500 boxes of crayons and 2 sticks of glue. So the last few years we started organizing the list into the ‘Most Needed’ items and put those at the top of the list. Then we have the ‘Also Needed’ items at the bottom of the list.” Leiker said.
“They need all of it but it varies from year to year. They might have a surplus of one thing and too little of another. We work with First Call for Help each year to make the list just right for what they need that year and I think that really helps them get the right amount of supplies,” she added.
“We are local companies and this is just one way we can give back to this community and the people that we serve,” said Hudson-Pillar.
“I’m really excited about the donations we’ve received,” said Shoaff. “We’ve also had a lot of churches that have helped supply things for us. Dentists and orthodontists in the area have been very gracious in donating most of the toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss for the hygiene packs that go in the backpacks.” Area service clubs also made cash donations.
“Having the new supplies like everyone else has puts everybody on the same playing level, and helps those kids get excited in families that might be struggling right now and not have the money for new school supplies.
“It’s very appreciated by the kids and families,” Shoaff said.
