In Anderson County, 788 elementary students are receiving a bag of food on Fridays to help them through the weekend. The Weekend BackPak SnackPak Program started by United Way of Anderson County during the 2012-13 school year continues to help feed elementary school children who have little to no food to eat on the weekends when school is out.
"The students participating really look forward to getting their Friday packets of food And I really enjoy giving it to them...it makes my weekend!” stated one teacher in District 4.
During the 2012-13 Campaign season, the organization raised $117,584 for Backpak program, including $30K Wal-Mart Foundation grant. To maintain the current numbers of 788 on the program for the full school year they need to raise an additional $83,192. However, they anticipate expanding to 850 children before the end of the school year. Schools are already requesting an increase in the number of students they serve. Therefore, they have set a goal to raise $100,000 by the end of this year to adequately fund the 2013-14 school year.
If you would like to donate to Weekend BackPak SnackPak program, you can visit www.unitedwayofanderson.org and click on GIVE or you can contact Kurt Stutler at 864-226-3438. All funds raised for the Weekend BackPak SnackPak program go directly to the program with no administration fees to United Way.