Georgetown Backpack Buddies

After a mission trip to Kiev, Ukraine, where they worked at a homeless childrens shelter, Jim Porter, the former minster at First United Methodist Church of Georgetown, pitched the idea to Carnes, and the two agreed to start the Backpack Buddies program after learning how impotant it was for some Georgetown ISD students.

The requirement is the family has to be qualified for free or reduced lunch, Carnes said. In Georgetown over 52 percent of the students fall in that category. That shocked us and kind of helped motivate us to put the program together.

In its first year in 2009, the program assisted 48 students at Williams Elementary School.

At the end of the school year we had a critique session with the principal, the counselor and the nurse, and they had smiles on their faces, Carnes said. They told us that the students in the program came to school on Mondays more awake and participated more in class, and the best part of it was that at the end of the school year when they did the testing, their grades were better.

Backpack Buddies has since expanded and now is available at all 10 of the elementary schools in GISD, and, as of this fall, all three of the middle schools, too.

Each Friday a student enrolled in the program gets a bag of five items. Carnes said a typical bag would include rice, instant oatmeal, a canned vegetable, a treat such as cookies or raisins and a juice or milk.

Members of the organization buy food at local food banks at a reduced price or whenever they find a deal on nonperishable food items at a grocery store, Carnes said.

On Wednesdays during the school year roughly 120 volunteers meet at the Backpack Buddies food storage location at Williams Elementary and pick up their food, which they then divide and pack to give to the school. The school is responsible for getting the bags to the students each Friday.

This summer the local program completed the paperwork with the Texas Secretary of States office for its certificate of formation as a nonprofit.

Although the organization receives its funding through grants and donations, Carnes said with the certificate he hopes Backpack Buddies can purchase a large truck for transporting bulk foods.

Our goal is to purchase a box truck suitable for handling about 3,500 pounds because we distribute [anywhere] from 1,600 to 2,400 pounds of food a week, he said

Volunteer opportunities are available, and the organization accepts donationsin the form of food, money or time.

These kids are our future, and the better-educated that they are, its going to be a better community that we live in, he said.

In school: Students whose families receive government food stamps, Aid for Needy Families with Children services, or if the family meets income eligibility guidelines can qualify for the free and reduced-price lunches at Georgetown ISD.

Out of school: The schools send home a benevolence letter each year that gives families an opportunity to sign up for assistance programs. If the family qualifies for free or reduced-price meals they may enroll their students in the Georgetown Backpack Buddies program.

• Georgetown Backpack Buddies
• 500 E. Eighth St.
• 512-415-0208
• www.georgetownbuddies.com