Families in need of school supplies lined up in vehicles in a cone maze around the FairOaks Mall parking lot to pick up backpacks from the Bartholomew County School Supply Assistance Program.
The program provides a free backpack and school supplies to registered families, a distribution which normally happens inside the mall in a vacant storefront.
But on Tuesday and Wednesday, with precautions for the COVID-19 pandemic, the event looked a little different.
The distribution became a drive-thu process, with mask-wearing volunteers directing families to various stations to sign in from their vehicles.
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To help streamline the process, volunteers wrote down the number of kids in each family, along with their grades and genders, and attached a sticky note with that information to the back of the family’s car. Then the volunteers loading the cars would know which backpacks to grab based on grade level.
One of the many community organizations involved with the school supply assistance program is the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center. Diane Doup, the center’s community outreach coordinator and a program committee member, said the drive-thru setup was inspired by similar events held Love Chapel and the Cheer Fund.
The supply assistance program prepared about 2,500 supply-filled backpacks for students this year. Not all of these backpacks were given out on the two days, as there will likely be more requests for supply assistance in the near future, organizers said.
“We think that we will continue to receive requests as families determine what they’re going to do, as far as the start of the school year,” Doup said. “We also have received calls from folks who have never needed assistance before and have found themselves stretched thin this year because of the economic situation with the virus.”
COVID-19 has been a factor in this year’s planning and distribution. In addition to the changes with distribution, Doup said that during the packaging phase (which took approximately 20 hours), volunteers were spaced out in accordance with social distancing guidelines and were required to wear masks.
“Due to the pandemic, our committee was not sure if we would even be able to have the distribution this year,” said Doup. “There are so many phases that had to have significant alterations to ensure everyone’s safety. But our committee felt it was important to get students their needed supplies, so we made the necessary adjustments.”
One aspect that remained largely unchanged is the contents of the backpacks themselves. Doup said that the backpacks contain the usual supplies such as paper, folders, pencils, pens and several other items students need for the new school year.
“We have been told by the school corporations, who provided the supply lists, that students will need all of these supplies, regardless if they’re in person or participating in eLearning,” she said.
The new setup wasn’t without its difficulties. Stacey Weismiller, a member of the program committee who directed traffic and handed out masks on Tuesday, said that the line moved a little more slowly than usual, with only five cars at each station at a time for safety reasons.
And with volunteers loading the cars to limit physical contact, the kids weren’t able to “shop” for their backpacks as in years past, Doup said. She added that not as many parents brought their kids along with them this year.
“One of the things we all look forward to is the children picking out their own backpacks, and this year they can’t do that,” Weismiller said. “… That’s one of the sad parts, because the children’s faces light up when they get to pick their own backpack out.”
However, Weismiller also said that the distribution is still a rewarding and heartwarming experience.
“It’s not a toy, it’s not something grand, but they still get excited, and it’s nice to see that they’re thankful,” she said. “And there’s so many organizations that come together to do this, to make it happen.”
Doup said that the program had about 75 volunteers total this year. These volunteers were involved not only in distribution, but also tasks such as unpacking, organizing, packaging, labeling and moving items. Several volunteers were students, such as the Columbus North boys’ basketball team (who helped move backpacks to the distribution site).
Doup said that in addition to volunteers stepping up this year, donors have also risen to the occasion.
“When March hit, we started to get very nervous, whether or not we would be able to meet the needs,” she said. “And thanks to so many generous donors — and that includes individuals, organizations, faith-based groups, businesses and more — who have made sure the organization will be able to serve every child that needs assistance.”
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There are ways to donate to the Bartholomew County School Supply Assistance Program:
- Online donations can be made at uwbarthco.org/bcssap.
- Individuals can directly purchase supplies and send them to the program through its Amazon Wishlist.
- Checks and money order donations can be mailed to the BCSSAP at 1531 13th Street, Suite 1100, Columbus IN 47201.
- Material donations to the program can be dropped off at the United Way Center or to any of the program’s partner organizations.
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The Bartholomew County School Supply Assistance Program involves collaboration between several community organizations. These organizations include:
- Advocates for Children
- The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.
- Centra Credit Union
- Columbus Sunrise Rotary Club
- The Community Center of Hope
- Cummins Inc.
- The Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp.
- Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center
- Su Casa
- United Way of Bartholomew County
The Youth Ambassadors from the Council for Youth Development were also involved with the distribution event this year. The ambassadors gave "Shine On" postcards to families waiting in line and encouraged parents to write positive notes to students.
School resource officers attended the distribution event to greet people and help them navigate the flow of traffic.
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If anyone has questions about the program or needs supply assistance, call 812-375-2216 to get in touch with the program. Assistance is need-based.
Bartholomew County families in financial need may register children entering kindergarten through 12th grade, enrolled in any school in Bartholomew County, including all public and private schools, for free basic school supplies.
The program provides emergency system to those in need at other times of the year as well.
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For more photos of the backpack distribution, visit therepublic.com.
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