Having Their Backs, One Backpack at a Time
By Cheryl Conway When it comes to fighting food insecurity, the Mt. Olive Food Pantry has long had the backs of local families. Now, thanks to a donation of 100 backpacks filled with essential school supplies, it also has the backs of local students, helping them begin the school year with confidence and all the tools they need for an A+ start. The Mt. Olive Republican Club recently partnered with the Mt. Olive Food Pantry to donate 100 fully stocked backpacks to local students who are less fortunate. The first time for this initiative— Mount Olive Republican Club Community Donation— the MO Republican Club turned over the filled backpacks to the MO Food Pantry on Saturday, Aug. 8, just in time for the new school year. “All of us care deeply about the children and families in our community,” says Martin Welzmuller, president of the MO Republican Club and chair of the Mt. Olive County Committee. “Each of us stepped up to help ensure that students in Mt. Olive have the support they need to start the school year confident and prepared.” The initiative was organized by the MO Olive Republican Club, with key support from “our executive leadership, local sponsors and community members, to help with our community service and helping families in need,” Welzmuller says. “Myself and [Councilwoman] Mary Lalama came up with the idea, and several people help donated to fund the cost of the backpacks.” The purpose of the initiative is to support local students and families by procuring, assembling and delivering essential school supplies and backpacks directly to the community through the Republican’s club partnership with the Mt. Olive Food Pantry. “The Mt. Olive Food Pantry works directly on the front lines with local families in need,” says Welzmuller. “Partnering with them ensures the backpacks go straight to the students who will benefit most before the school year starts.” Adds Lalama, “I wanted to start with the food pantry because we have 90 families that use the food pantry so I figured that would be a great place to start and then maybe to reach out to some of the schools to find out some other families as well.” As far as the number of bags, “We selected 100 to directly meet the specific needs identified by the Mt. Olive Food Pantry while ensuring every single bag was fully stocked with high-quality supplies,” explains Welzmuller. The 100 backpacks are durable, standard 17-inch bags available in a variety of school-friendly colors, including blue, red, black and teal. Made by high-quality commercial manufacturers, the backpacks are designed to withstand the demands of the school year. Each one is filled with essential, grade-appropriate school supplies, including notebooks, folders, pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, safety scissors, rulers and pencil pouches, giving students everything they need to start the school year prepared, details Welzmuller. The total cost for the 100 backpacks and packed school supplies was approximately $855. “Funding and supplies were contributed directly by our club members, local elected officials and community supporters,” says Welzmuller. “In addition to the backpacks, we presented the Mt. Olive Food Pantry with a $110 monetary donation alongside non-perishable food collected during our community barbecue event this past Saturday.” Now that the bag has been opened, the MO Republican Club may plan to make this an annual initiative. “This is the inaugural year for our student backpack drive and if needed we will do it again in the future,” says Welzmuller. “While our club has consistently hosted community service events over the years, we are now making a concerted effort to publicize our outreach so residents can see the charitable work we do to support Mt. Olive.” For those interested in getting involved with the MO Republican Club, community members are invited to attend the next Mt. Olive Republican Club meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16th at 7 p.m. at Enzo’s Pizzeria in Budd Lake. Connect at mountoliverepublicanclub@gmail.com or visit mountoliverepublicanclub.com.