ATHOL — He got a backpack! She got a backpack! Everybody got a backpack!
While supplies lasted, of course.
Five hundred new backpacks were made available to North Quabbin schoolchildren on Friday, as part of the 15th annual Patch Parents’ Council Backpack Drive in the Athol Credit Union Community Room from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Parents, guardians and children lined up on Main Street to await their turn to stock up on backpacks and supplies for the upcoming school year. The Patch Parents’ Council is part of Valuing Our Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of the area’s children.
“The parents are going to come in, they’re going to register their kids, what grade they’re in, what school they attend, and what town they live in,” Shirley Mitchell, a family advocate with Valuing Our Children, said while gazing at the dozens of people funneling their way through the community room to get supplies. “When they come through, they’re going to get a free book, a backpack and all the supplies to put into it.”
The supplies — donated by The Salvation Army, various community members and organizations and Athol Credit Union — included pens, pencils, glue sticks, crayons, binders and tissues. The Athol Credit Union also donated snacks for the children.
Shawn Gonynor, the credit union’s vice president of marketing, said ACU last year became a “certified community financial credit union,” meaning it can get grants from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to get involved in community projects.
“It’s important to us, because we can give back to the community,” he said. “Our credit union is made up of 7,000 members, people that live within the majority of the North Quabbin region, so for us to give back, it’s important.”
Mitchell said people from various organizations and groups volunteered to work the backpack drive. State Rep. Susannah Whipps Lee helped as well. Mitchell also said teachers from the Athol-Royalston Regional School District donated $450 in cash to purchase last-minute supplies.
“A lot of people from the community came together, and it’s amazing,” Mitchell said.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli