This group of FFA members helped to inventory all of the school supplies for the United Way Backpack Project. Pictured l to r – Brennen Meyer, Leisha Martinez, Morgan Hoffmann, McKenna Dockter, Katelyn Capacia, James Mathiowetz (Summer Intern), Presley Bauer, Nayzeth Luna, Miah Brown.
This FFA crew packed the Covid kits, sorted all of the last school supply items, and packed 48 backpacks for the Sleepy Eye Public School students. Pictured l to r – Alex Joramo, Adam Johnson, Miah Brown, Presley Bauer, Morgan Hoffmann, Maddi Helget, Nayzeth Luna, Leisha Martinez, Katelyn Capacia, and McKenna Dockter.
Each year, approximately 400 backpacks are filled with grade and school district appropriate school supplies and given to qualifying children throughout Brown County through the United Way Backpack Project.
Children in grades K-8 in Brown County who qualify for the free lunch program can participate in this program. United Way has teamed up with local school districts, the Salvation Army, Optimist Club of New Ulm, The Caring Tree Program, Bank Midwest and many area businesses to make this opportunity available to families in the Brown County area.
Supplies that have been donated need to be sorted and inventoried to figure out which supplies still need to be purchased. The Sleepy Eye FFA had 8 volunteers come together to help sort the supplies at the New Ulm Event Center.
Then, the following week after all of the supplies had been gathered, 10 Sleepy Eye FFA volunteers helped to pack Covid kits and 48 backpacks as well as deliver them to the Sleepy Eye Public School. The Covid kits were new this year and included items such as hand sanitizer, reuseable water bottle, Clorox Wipes, masks, and more.
Thank you to the local businesses who helped collect donations in our communities this July for the project. Our FFA members are able to utilize United Way funds to help cover costs for FFA events throughout the year and we were happy to give back by helping out with this project!