Backpack Blessings program continues

Posted 8/6/19

Backpack Blessings will resume again as soon as the school year starts.

The program provides kids in Powell with a backpack of food to help feed them through the weekend.

Cornerstone Church …

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Backpack Blessings program continues

Posted

Backpack Blessings will resume again as soon as the school year starts.

The program provides kids in Powell with a backpack of food to help feed them through the weekend.

Cornerstone Church started the Powell program in 2011 with just Southside Elementary School. The program expanded that year into the basement at Union Presbyterian Church, where it still operates today.

In its first year, Backpack Blessings served 30 kids. Today, it serves about 110 children at all three elementary schools and Head Start.

“Feeding Powell children. That is what we’re about,” said Sharon Earhart, who serves on the Backpack Blessings board.

Earhart said the program is supported by private donations and some grants. They are moving toward 501c(3) non-profit status, which will allow them to tap into more grants and expand their offerings to more kids.

“That’s something we’re working on now and hope to have done soon,” she said. 

Most of the food the program supplies is purchased, but some food donations are also used.

Volunteers then pack together sacks of food that fulfill three meals for two days.

The program provides the donations through a process that protects the privacy of the kids. Organizers and volunteers don’t actually know the kids’ names, as local schools enroll needy kids in the program. Teachers then place the sacks of food in the kids’ backpacks, which they then take home with them.

“We respect their privacy,” Earhart said.

Any parents of elementary-age children wishing to utilize the program can talk to the schools in which their children are enrolled. Anyone wishing to donate can contact the Union Presbyterian Church in Powell at 307-754-2491.

— By Kevin Killough

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