Our parish does a similar ministry for an inner-city Pittsburgh school
Backpacks fill lots of students' needs
There are those who thank God for Fridays, but Melinda Wesneski is living for a Monday.
It's the day each year when months of work culminates in a joyful celebration as the Washington County School Supply Drive hands out hundreds of backpacks filled with markers, crayons and paper to about 1,800 children from throughout the region. This year backpacks will be handed out Aug. 10 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Bartlesville.
"I do all of the work for Monday because it is a joy to see the children and the looks on their faces," Wesneski said. "They are patient; there is no complaining while they wait. They come and they line up early, sometimes in the rain. They really do appreciate this."
There are many school supply drives in communities across the United States, but Wesneski, who is president of the supply drive, sees Washington County's effort as unique because it has an organized system that matches the exact supplies needed for each school with the student who will be receiving them.
Organizers work with the schools to find out what is needed and then pack the backpacks accordingly.
Teachers in one elementary might want five glue sticks, while teachers in another school might want students to have glue bottles instead. It's covered — thanks to an organized effort that has been honed to a science through years of conducting the supply drive.
"We are actually making sure the students have exactly what they need," Wesneski said.
Sign-ups are under way through Friday for students who would like to receive a backpack filled with the school supplies they need for the year. Sign-up forms are available at Agape Mission, CONCERN and Mary Martha Outreach. The drive has grown from serving 900 students in 2003 to double that number last year.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090727_12_A13_BARTLE577055
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