United Way doubles up on backpack giveaway for Mat-Su kids

PALMER — With the first day of school just four days away, hundreds of kids and their parents visited the Mat-Su School District Offices on Friday to pick up free backpacks. The school had 1,026 backpacks to give away starting at 9 a.m., and by 9:30, more than half of them were already gone.

“This is a partnership with the United Way — they’re really the heart and soul behind the backpacks,” said Meghan McCarthy-Grant, Assistant Federal Program Director for the Mat-Su School District.

In front of the district offices sat a school bus with a banner up front, reading “Stuff the Bus.” Earlier in the week, United Way volunteers filled up the donated backpacks with supplies and then stuffed the bus up with them. The 1,026 backpacks were nearly double last year’s tally.

For years, the local chapter of the United Way has partnered with the school district to hand out free backpacks to children from low income homes.

McCarthy-Grant said that what that means to the students can’t be overstated.

“This is a huge difference,” she said. “If you think about the child on the very first day of school, it’s about having dignity from the first day of school.”

McCarthy-Grant said that despite the rush at 9 a.m., everyone made it through in fine and efficient order.

“They stuff the bus and then it comes here for the giveaway,” she said. “It’s a very coordinated event, but they (the United Way) really are the heart.”

Contact editor Matt Hickman at 352-2268 or matt.hickman@frontiersman.com