Volunteers Fill 4,000 Backpacks for Bloomington-Normal Students

Reposted from The Pantagraph

By Kelsey Watznauer; Photos by Clay Jackson

NORMAL — Freshly-sharpened pencils, new crayons with every color intact, uncracked rulers and bright highlighters not yet dulled from use — the sure signs of a new school year quickly approaching, and volunteers are hard at work preparing for one of the biggest school supply giveaways in Bloomington-Normal.

Community members have spent recent weeks collecting school supplies, hosting supply drives and filling backpacks at the Midwest Food Bank ahead of the 2023 Back 2 School Alliance school supply giveaway.

“Our community is so wonderful and so sharing. We put out that need and people just come from far and wide and support us, so we feel very fortunate,” said Jan Meadows, chairwoman of the Back 2 School Alliance.

The organization will give away about 4,000 backpacks filled with new school supplies from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, at the north parking garage of State Farm Corporate South, 3 State Farm Plaza in Bloomington.

Meadows said the Back 2 School Alliance is about partnering with parents and families to ensure their students are ready for the first day of school.

Eligible students entering grades pre-kindergarten to eighth grade at Bloomington District 87 and McLean County Unit 5 must be registered with all immunizations and physicals completed and qualify for free or reduced lunch to receive an invitation from their district. Families interested in receiving supplies should contact their school office.

“This is not a handout but a hand up. We work as partners with our parents,” Meadows said. “They do what they need to do to get the kids ready as far as records and requirements, and we’ll help you with school supplies.”

Meadows said when the roughly 2,000 vehicles that she’s expecting roll through the giveaway, the alliance’s promise is to have more than enough backpacks available so they never run out and families never have to worry about getting in line too late.

During a shift of packing backpacks this week at the Midwest Food Bank warehouse in Normal, Kathy Rasch said she’s seen firsthand how these donations make a big difference for students.

“When the kids come in the first day of school, everyone is so excited about their school supplies. They can’t wait, and that is part of our getting started for the school year — labeling everything and getting everything organized in their desks,” said Rasch, who teaches third grade at Prairieland Elementary School.

When students don’t have the supplies they need but their classmates do, it can make for a difficult first day, she said.

“It’s very important,” Rasch said. “They’re excited and you don’t want to quell that excitement, and if they don’t have the proper supplies, that can do that.”

Laura Beal, who has taught at Parkside Elementary for 14 years, agreed, saying the donations help to “even the playing field” for students.

Now heading into her first year teaching at LeRoy Elementary, Beal said it was “nice to be on this side” of the supply giveaway, volunteering alongside her mother, Jenny Pettinger of Normal, and her son, Jack.

Nearing the end of his summer break, Jack said he was excited to start first grade at Colene Hoose Elementary and happy to be able to help out other students.

Pettinger, volunteering for the first time with the Back 2 School Alliance, noted the process was a true community effort, from the local organizations donating supplies to the volunteers filling the backpacks one supply at a time.

Another volunteer, Sarah Boesdorfer of Bloomington, said she was glad to be able to help the alliance get the supplies to the students who need them most, “and just provide that help wherever I can.

“I just appreciate trying to make kids feel as much a part of the school as they can from day one, so they have what they need and don’t feel like they have to ask for it,” she said.

This is the third year of the alliance hosting the giveaway as a drive-thru rather than the party that previously was held at Grossinger Motors Arena, a change that was made because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We really made it a party the best we could, but our families stood out in line outside the building for hours and we didn’t like that,” Meadows said. “The drive-thru line provides our families privacy that we were unable to do at the (arena). While we gave up some of the joy of the party, we exchanged that for privacy, which is important, too.”

A crew of Disney princesses plan to make an appearance at the giveaway, as well as mascots from several area businesses, to try to bring more of a “party-type atmosphere,” Meadows said. Like they used to at the arena, social agencies will set up tables along the line this year with representatives offering pencils, suckers and information on their resources.

But even without the traditional party, Meadows said the joy is still there.

When the kids are handed their new backpacks — “those faces,” she said, smiling. “They’re excited; they can’t wait to rip them open and see.”

Depending on their grade level, inside they’ll find notebooks, folders, glue sticks, crayons, rulers, colored pencils, notecards, markers, sticky notes and pencils, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste and a water bottle donated by Rivian Automotive.

Incoming freshmen at Illinois State University have also spent the summer helping to fill backpacks, leaving little extras like Redbird stickers and handwritten notes for the students.

The Back 2 School Alliance will also provide supplies directly to Bloomington, Normal Community and Normal West high schools, so students in need can contact their school counselors to get some supplies.

To contribute to the giveaway, community members can drop off new school supplies at Hy-Vee, 1403 N. Veterans Parkway in Bloomington.

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation serves as fiscal sponsor for the Back 2 School Alliance. If you would like to support the fund’s mission, please donate online.