Hampton Rotary Club

Thirty Rotarians stuffed backpacks at Hampton Academy Monday night with pencils, pens, binders, calculators, notebooks and other supplies as part of a give-back effort designed to help Hampton, North Hampton, Seabrook and Hampton Falls families facing financial hurdles.

 

"It's sad that there are just that many kids who don't even have backpacks," said Larry Marsolais, the president of the Hampton Rotary Club.

 

Fifty backpacks will be distributed to students at Hampton Academy, while a total of 50 backpacks will be given to students at Seabrook's elementary and middle schools.

 

Twenty backpacks will be distributed between North Hampton School and Hampton Falls' Lincoln Akerman School. Another six backpacks will be distributed to South Hampton students.

 

Marsolais said the recipients of the backpacks were identified with the help of the schools' social workers and guidance counselors. The students will receive a backpack in one of a number of styles so no one else knows they are in need of help, he said.

 

The supplies are part of a grant program that ties into the Rotary's education focus. Every three years, Marsolais said the Rotary redistributes some of its members' donations to the community, and the backpacks are one way that money is being given back this year.

 

The cost of the backpacks and supplies have also been offset by discounts from local businesses as well as donations from the school districts and local banks, according to Marsolais.

 

Jeannette McDonald, the Rotary's youth services coordinator, said there is a "perception within our communities that we're all doing well," although she said "in reality there a quite a few needing help" in each of the five communities.

"Need has no discrimination," she said.

 

Before the discounts, each stuffed backpack was estimated to cost between $50 and $65, which Hampton Academy Principal Dave O'Connor said is a purchase that is difficult for a number of Seacoast residents.

 

O'Connor said 22 percent of Hampton Academy students currently participate in the middle school's free and reduced lunch program, a nearly 1-in-5 figure that O'Connor said illustrates there is a greater need than many realize in Hampton.

He said the backpacks will also go a long way to help the teachers and district as well, as the school often does what it can to make sure local parents aren't "hit" with a long school supply list.

 

"Some can't afford necessities," said O'Connor.

 

Marsolais said he hopes to repeat the inaugural stuffed backpack program next year as well as find a way to make it an annual source of aid for local families.

 

"We'll do a follow up to see if there is a need," he said.

 

Find more information about the Hampton Rotary Club online at hamptonrotary.org.