Members of Commission on the Status of Blacks and the Backpack Project distributed 55 backpacks to underprivileged school children in surrounding areas.
The partnership, originally scheduled Jan. 24 in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was rescheduled for Feb. 7 due to sickness.
The Backpack Project serves three schools in Jackson County and one school in White County. The Jackson County schools receive a total of 40 backpacks and White County 15.
The Service Center at Tech began the Backpack Project in 2013 and based the program on a similar one called Blessings in a Backpack.
The TTU Food Pantry works in conjunction with the Backpack Project.
Administrators select the backpack recipients each week from the schools. Every possible Friday, 10 items the students may need to get through the weekend are sent home with them in the backpacks.
Items in the backpacks include, but are not limited to, kid-friendly food items, toiletries, school supplies and books.
“My favorite part about it was being able to contribute and know that my volunteering was making a difference,” commission member Shataydrian Marshall said. “I found that it was interesting because they have so many items of things for the students to have and we were able to double bags in less amount of time than it usually takes them to do.”
The Backpack Project depends on donations in the form of materials and money to purchase the materials.
Information about donations and volunteering can be found at http://ttufoodpantry.weebly.com/or at the Backpack Project’s location in Tech Village.
All cash donations must be taken to Room 119 in the RUC.
