Published: July 18, 2008 09:48 pm         

Operation Backpack prepares students for school year again

Operation Backpack has taken on the task of loading up children in need of school supplies and backpacks for the school year. Through donations from the community, Operation Backpack reaches out to county schools to ensure every child is able to fully participate in and benefit from their education.

Cindy Parker, Operation Backpack coordinator, wants every child in need to be able to enjoy their education this year with a full backpack of supplies. The organization’s home base is Mabscott United Methodist Church.

This year, Parker hopes to have more than 700 backpacks filled with supplies. To date, OB has 521 backpacks, but the organization still needs more donations from the community to reach its goal.

The group supplies kindergarten through 12th-graders with fully loaded backpacks. These children receive the backpacks from school counselors in a discreet and private manner so the children will not suffer ridicule from other students. The full backpacks will be given to school counselors by the first day of school in late August.

According to Parker, the backpacks are assembled according to the appropriate age and grade level of the students. An elementary school student’s backpack contains items such as scissors, glue, pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks, folders and rulers. A high school backpack contains three-ring binders, a scientific calculator if accessible, graph paper, colored pencils, markers, a pencil pouch, an individual pencil sharpener, notebook paper, pens and pencils.

Parker said, “Giving a child a backpack with school supplies helps them have a sense of self-esteem and aids them in fitting in with the other students at school. With the way the economy is, OB is trying to get more participation from the community so all children in need can have these backpacks.”

When OB first started, it had only 10 backpacks and two schools to work with; now the program has grown to assist school counselors in Raleigh, Fayette, Summers, Boone and Wyo-ming counties.

The organization accepts donations year-round from area residents and businesses, including gently used previously owned backpacks, pencils, pens and other school supplies. All donations are welcome, especially because of the large amount of school supplies that schools require today.

Donations can be mailed to OB at P.O. Box 710 Mabscott, WV 25871, or made in person at Mabscott United Methodist Church.

— E-mail: amorici@

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