Project Backpack helps students hit the books with the right tools at the ready.

Operation Backpack is one of the island’s most successful maneuvers.

With strategic planning, a dedicated team of volunteers and thoughtful benefactors, the Helpline House program has distributed backpacks and school supplies to island children in kindergarten through college for six years.

Marshaling the troops is Penny Paulsen, who has been with the program since its inception. It is, she said, “one of those projects that really works.”

“It truly has been a community effort to make sure that kids in need go back to school with the supplies they need,” said Paulsen, a Helpline volunteer for 15 years. “I enjoy working with this program so much because the community supports it so well, the children love getting their new backpacks and supplies and the parents are grateful to have the burden on their budgets eased.”

By week’s end, 125 children had signed up to receive such essentials as backpacks, binders, lunch bags, calculators, pencils, paper and notebooks.

Knowing that another 25 or so will look to Helpline House once the term begins, Paulsen keeps a stash of the variously sized backpacks and supplies on hand and replenishes the stock for year-round use by students who need additional items or who have transferred into Bainbridge schools.

One of the prerequisites of the program is that students must either live on the island or attend school here.

“I think that there will be slightly less students this year than last year (when) we had 180 students receive help from the program…but it is very hard to tell until we get to the end of September,” said Paulsen, adding that this year’s crop of students are spread out age-wise, with big kindergarten and sixth-grade classes.

Donations have been “wonderful” this year, she said, and any funds that are not used to buy school supplies will be used throughout the year for education-related expenses, such as: ferry/bus passes for students in the Running Start college program; ASB cards for high school events and activities; and class fees.

Donations come from every sector of the island, from three young girls who sold ice cream cones, to Kiwanis members members held a “McTakeover” fund-raiser at the Bainbridge McDonald’s and sent in the money they raised, plus an additional donation, to a group of teachers who brought in a large quantity of school supplies.

Some islanders give to the project on a regular basis. For the past several years, a family has brought in five wheeled backpacks stuffed with supplies for middle-school children.

This year, the Popcorn Club – a group of girls, students themselves – ran a lemonade stand and dropped off the profits.

The project also attracts many individual givers, such as the real estate agent who donates $300 from each house he closes on. And the youngster who made and sold ice cream cones and gave her earnings to Operation Backpack.

Paulsen started receiving backpacks and supplies in August.

To an outsider, the quantity and quality were astounding. To Petersen, they were the norm.

Many people dropped off multiples of the same backpack; others filled theirs with supplies.

One donor made a striking pink-and-gray backpack even more special with a disposable camera, a stuffed animal and nail polish.

Among the “mature” navy and black backpacks stood a bag emblazoned with Superman and another with Tinkerbell.

Parents sign up for supplies ahead of time, indicating their child’s gender, age, school and favorite color. Paulsen takes the latter to heart.

“If they said red, I try to give them three choices,” Paulsen said.

Sometimes a child and a backpack seem destined for one another. One year, a little girl said she loved ladybugs. By chance, such a bag came in.

Backpacks that are filled with supplies are emptied and handed out separately. Volunteers have learned that it’s better to separate supplies according to grade level, so that all the necessary items are included. Surplus supplies go to after-school programs.

Having spent a solid month buying and sorting supplies, Paulsen – who had dreams about packing bags – was eager to greet the students. They began streaming into Helpline last week, into a back room filled with neat rows of backpacks, lunch bags and sundry supplies. Children up to grade eight picked up pre-packaged bags of supplies, while high-school students received generic bags of items.

“Most of the kids are really excited. They just love their new packs,” Paulsen said. “They try them on and walk around. Sometimes when you’re in high school, you go, ‘Oh, yeah.’

“You just about feel like crying when you see a backpack and how cute it is. From all aspects, it’s a really fun project to work with,” Paulsen said.

The atmosphere is fun for the students, too.

“We do keep the identities of the children receiving help confidential,” Petersen said. “One of the objectives of Project Backpack is to help the students fit in with their peers and not be labeled as needing to get their back-to-school needs met through (Helpline House).

“We have a real mix of choices so they fit in with their peer group,” Paulsen said.

“This is one of those times when it’s good to fit in.”

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Helpline hints

Because school is under way, Operation Backpack seeks cash donations only. Families who need supplies and backpacks should register at Helpline House. For information call Helpline House at 842-7621.