The Byrnes Mill Police Department plans to give away 200 backpacks to local children before the start of school in August, Police Chief Frank T. Selvaggio said.
He said the Police Department is asking local residents to donate school supplies to fill the backpacks.
A private donor provided the clear Eastsport backpacks.
“I had an opportunity to get these backpacks, which came out of the blue,” Selvaggio said.
“We’re trying to come up with a plan to do a back-to-school event.”
He said the Police Department is teaming up with three local churches to fill the backpacks with supplies, but additional community support would be helpful.
Selvaggio said Spring Hills Presbyterian Church, The Point of Refuge and SpiritWord Church have agreed to help. These churches also help the Police Department with its annual Shop with a Hero event. In 2022, that program provided Christmas gifts for 100 local children in need.
“There’s always a need in the community,” Selvaggio said. “Maybe some families are having difficulties affording supplies, and we can make their lives easier.”
The department plans to give school supplies to Northwest R-1 School District students ranging from kindergartners to fifth graders.
After meeting with school district representatives, Selvaggio identified a list of items most important for children in those grade levels.
Items needed include colored pencils; No. 2 regular pencils; glue sticks; Elmer’s glue; boxes of tissues; Clorox or Lysol wipes; Fiskars scissors; 24-count boxes of crayons; broad-stroke and thin Crayola markers; pencil boxes; dry-erase markers; pink erasers; hand sanitizer; highlighters; Ziploc bags; one-subject, wide-ruled spiral notebooks in red, blue, green, yellow or black; plastic three-prong folders in red, green, blue, yellow or orange; paper towels; five-tab dividers; three-ring, one-inch binders.
“We’re going to fill these backpacks with as much stuff as we can for these kids,” Selvaggio said.
Donations may be dropped off at the Byrnes Mill Police station, 141 Osage Executive Circle.
For more information, contact the department through the City Hall, at 636-677-7727.