Submitted
Summer may be only half over, but the folks at First Call for Help of Ellis County are busily collecting supplies for Backpacks for Kids.
The annual event provides a free backpack loaded with school supplies and personal hygiene items for any child who needs one. There are no income guidelines, but children must live in Ellis County and must attend school in Ellis County in order to qualify.
Laura Shoaff, Client Service Specialist who supervises the program for First Call, said students may attend either public or private schools. They will still qualify as long as the school is in Ellis County. The program “is geared more toward low-income, but we don’t turn anybody away,” Shoaff said.
Nex-Tech and Nex-Tech Wireless will sponsor a School Supply Drive from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, at Walmart in Hays. Customers will be given a list of needed supplies when they walk into the store and may donate items as they leave.
Macey Pfeifer, First Call’s Executive Director, said, “Many families struggle to afford these basic necessities, and every year, we receive requests from school counselors to provide backpacks for students carrying their supplies in grocery sacks.”
Families have until Tuesday, July 23, to register their children to receive a free backpack. Families may register in one of three ways, Shoaff said: They may fill out the paper form and mail or bring it to the First Call Office at 607 E. 13th St.; they may call the office at (785) 623-2800; or they may register online at https://www.firstcallelliscounty.com/backpacks.
Shoaff said if families register their children in advance, “they are guaranteed a backpack with school supplies for their grade level.”
The backpacks for registered children will be distributed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Room, 2900 Hall St.
Any remaining backpacks will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis the following day, Friday, Aug. 2, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the same location.
Last year, First Call distributed 592 backpacks. She said this year the nonprofit agency is preparing 650.
In addition to school supplies, backpacks also will contain a hygiene bag containing a full-size bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap. Backpacks for third graders on up also will contain deodorant. Kindergartners through fifth graders will receive facial tissue. Older students may receive that item for the asking, Shoaff said.
Also each year Delta Dental provides “Smile Kits,” which contain toothpaste, a toothbrush, and dental floss. All student participants receive that kit.
In addition to the personal hygiene items mentioned above, First Call is seeking the following items: 3x3-inch Post-It Sticky Notes (any color), new backpacks in medium and large sizes, highlighters and dry erase markers, plastic school boxes or pencil bags, notebook paper (both wide-ruled and college-ruled), 4-oz. Elmer’s School Glue, large pink erasers, 10-pack Crayola Washable Markers (classic colors), pointed scissors, 12-pack colored pencils, 24-pack Crayola Crayons, 2 pocket folders, pencils (#2 yellow), pens (blue, black, and red), earbuds and small headphones, boxes of facial tissue, graph paper, 1-subject spiral notebooks (wide and college ruled), 1-inch three-ring binders, glue sticks (no gel), tab index divider pages, composition notebooks, combination locks.
All donated items must be new, Shoaff emphasized.
“Each year we ask the schools to give us their supply list. I so appreciate the schools who send me a copy, so I don’t have to go track them down,” she said.
Shoaff said the main items needed at press time are the 1-subject spiral notebooks, 1-inch three-ring binders, looseleaf notebook paper, and hand sanitizer.
Monetary donations are also appreciated, mailed to the address above, with Backpacks for Kids in the memo line.
Shoaff said major contributors at press time include VFW Post #9076, the Hays Lions Club, and St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, which all donated between $500 and $1,000. Also, Midwest Energy, Walmart, and Midwestern Pipeworks, which all donated $1,000 or more.
“If we have extras, we will still be handing out backpacks until school starts—for new kids,” Shoaff said. “If a kid needs a backpack, we will get them one.”
Pfeifer added, “Your contributions can make a significant impact on the lives of students in our community. Whether it's a financial donation or purchasing backpacks, school supplies, or hygiene items, every contribution counts.”