By Mary Owen
A donation of 600 backpacks by a local organization gave new meaning to the educational adage “no child left behind.”
Friends of the Family’s Back to School Fair got a boost this year when The Salvation Army in Salem donated the backpacks, distributed at the August event.
“In previous years, the fair held a drawing for the limited number of backpacks that had been donated,” said Mary Grim, director of community services for The Salvation Army, serving Marion and Polk counties. “This year, by providing 600 backpacks, The Salvation Army was able to ensure that every child left the event with an age-appropriate-sized backpack.”
Although the Back to School Fair, held before school starts each year, has run for 15 years, this was the first year that The Salvation Army participated, Grim said.
“The Salvation Army recognizes the need to ensure that students are ready to learn when they return to school,” Grim said. “This includes having the tools they need to be successful. We were pleased to participate with other partners in the community to make a difference in the lives of our children.”
The fair is offered to kids in the North Santiam School District communities, including Lyons, Mehama, Stayton and Sublimity. The one-day event provides students with free school supplies and free clothing to prepare for the upcoming school year.
“When this event began, the attendance was around 100 families,” said Kim Fredricks. FOF event coordinator. “Over the past two years, we’ve had over 1,100 people attend.”
Friends of the Family volunteers distributed the backpacks, filled with notebook paper, pencils, rulers, erasers, folder, scissors, colored pencils, glues ticks, glue bottles, crayons and other miscellaneous supplies.
“This allows all kids the same opportunity to be prepared for school and to be excited about learning,” Fredricks said.
Fredricks said parents and students were excited about the give-away.
“I still see the backpacks walking to school on the students’ backs,” she said of the packs, given out to students from elementary through high school.
FOF enjoys helping local families and assisting children to be prepared for a successful school year, Fredricks said.
“It takes all of our community partners to make this event a success,” she added. ‘We have many groups who attend this event yearly.”
The groups include: Stayton Police Department, Santiam Hospital, Marion County Health Department, Stayton Public Library, Oregon Marine Board, Reading for All Program, Detroit and Silver Falls state parks, Head Start and Foothills Church.
“Over the past five years, Foothills Church has run the clothing drive event,” Fredricks said. “They have collected, sorted and distributed clothes to the families at the Back to School Fair each year.”
