Volunteers, Families and Community Benefit from Backpack Buddies

Story by Stephen Prudhomme | Photography by Shots by Somi Studios

Mirroring the growth in Effingham County, Backpack Buddies has expanded its reach. Starting with three schools in 2014, it now serves 16 learning institutions.

What hasn't changed is its commitment to providing meals to hungry youngsters and involving the community in this invaluable and rewarding endeavor that offers nourishment for the body and spirit.

The bags are packed and delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each contains juice, fruit, protein, vegetables, breakfast foods, snacks and, once a month, a jar of peanut butter. The youngsters receive candy bags for Halloween, Valentine's Day and Easter and a stocking at Christmas. On weekends, in case the students don't have enough food at home and are unable to have meals at school, the bags provide a nutritional lifeline of sorts.

That lifeline is especially crucial in Effingham County, where, according to Co-director Trish Guetterman, 53 percent of the youngsters are eligible for a free or reduced lunch. She said the children eat breakfast and lunch at school and are given a bag of food to eat on weekends. Over long weekends and holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Backpack Buddies provides them with two bags apiece.

Guetterman noted they packed 25,230 the last school year, averaging about 700 bags a week. "Our highest number in one week was 720 bags," she said.

The program is set up to ensure the privacy and dignity of the participating families. Guetterman said they know nothing about the children. "The schools send out a permission slip," she noted. "Once they receive it back they keep it on file. I email each week asking how many bags each school needs."

Frequently, volunteers are retired educators. "They have seen the need firsthand and want to help," Guetterman said. "Maybe some have experienced food insecurity and that is why they help."

Among the retired educators volunteering for Backpack Buddies is Colleen Oberlander. The Rincon resident has been involved with the organization for over 15 years, starting when she worked at South Effingham Elementary School. Nowadays, she packs, prepares and delivers the bags of food to county schools for distribution to the students.

Oberlander said Backpack Buddies is a growing resource parents can utilize to help feed the students during these difficult economic times. She adds it's also a valuable resource in the community that helps hundreds of students in Effingham County on a weekly basis, pointing out that extra bags of food are sent home with the students to help provide nutrition over a break or holiday. Furthermore, Oberlander notes, Backpack Buddies provides treats for special holidays such as Christmas, when each student receives a stocking filled with essentials and goodies.

"Buddies is run by a great group of volunteers that unload truck deliveries, organize the food pantry and fill bags to go home every week with our students," Oberlander said. "It really does take a village to raise a child, and this group of volunteers works very hard at what they do."

Given the emphasis of maintaining the privacy of the individuals served by Backpack Buddies, the volunteers and youngsters don't know one another. That doesn't prevent the former from diligently showing up on a weekly basis.

"We try to not only work hard, but also have fun along the way. I know of so many friendships that have been formed through volunteering at Backpack Buddies, and it's such a blessing to know that we get to be a small part of that."

Each week, Guetterman notes, she has at least 25 people show up to help set up, pack, deliver, put away food, and clean up. There isn't a signup sheet for volunteers. They just show up when available, regardless of the weather.

"They work in the August heat, put away a delivery in the pouring rain, and worked in the super cold," Guetterman said. "I've never had a single week that I didn't have enough people to help. I do have weeks where I don't have enough to do for some of the people that do show up. That tells me that no matter what we face in our lives, people still want to help and they generally love their fellow human. It gives me hope, hope for the next generation and hope for our world."

Donors also play a key role in the success of Backpack Buddies. These include churches, businesses and individuals such as Kelli Lariscy, a retired educator who lives in Guyton. She said she and her husband, Jeff, have made monthly donations to the organization for the past few years.

"I'm a retired educator and have had the experience of having a hungry child in my classroom and scrambling to find something for him to eat," Lariscy said. "I love being able to help Backpack Buddies' mission of providing children, who might otherwise be hungry, with meals and snacks to get them through the weekends and holidays."

Like the volunteers, donors have a heart for helping those in need. Guetterman speculates they see a need or experienced a need in their life that leads them to donate to an organization such as Backpack Buddies.

"The local businesses/corporations that donate to us have been amazing in their support of the children of our county," Guetterman said. "The people who donate from the corporations are community members who see the need for the children and are in a position to help, and do. We are so extremely grateful for every single donation that comes to us."

There are several drop off donation locations for Backpack Buddies. Horton's General Store is consistently the top spot.

"I will go by there and pick up a trunkful of donations about once a month," Guetterman said. "I'm always so shocked by the amount people donate to us. Tammy Shuman is the person at Horton's who constantly is posting on Facebook to get donations for us. She has been such a support. She will challenge her followers to donate 100 jars of peanut butter and she will end up with 200."

Located in Rincon, Horton's General Store became a drop off location for Backpack Buddies in 2021. "I encourage the community to help me get certain items they are in need of," said Tammy Leggett, one of the owners. "I've enjoyed working with Trish and the crew. I also attend Goshen United Methodist Church, where we have several members that volunteer to help pack the bags on Thursdays. Just recently our missions team at church, with the help of church members, raised $5,000 for them."

As altruistic as many individuals, businesses and churches are in Effingham County, Backpack Buddies faces the challenge of keeping up with increased costs. With costs rising everywhere, Guetterman noted, their costs are rising as well.

"We buy a lot of our food from Second Harvest and are able to get it cheaper than going to the grocery store, but our dollars definitely don't go as far now," she said.

Despite the fiscal challenges, Backpack Buddies will continue to provide meals for students in need, bolstered by a group of caring individuals who understand how these youngsters represent the future and their success ultimately benefits the community at large. Its mission remains possible and in the bag.

"Our mission is to get food to each child that needs it," Guetterman said. "We have made sure the food is delivered each week. We have teachers tell us that some of the kids get very excited when they receive their bags. One mom told a volunteer that once their child got their Christmas stocking, they played with the toys inside all evening."

The work of Effingham Backpack Buddies in the community hasn't gone unnoticed. It's been voted the Best Place to Volunteer in Effingham Magazine's Best of Effingham.

"To know that they (volunteers) believe in our mission and feel that Backpack Buddies is a great place for them to be each week is such a blessing and an incredible honor," Guetterman said. "We try to not only work hard, but also have fun along the way. I know of so many friendships that have been formed through volunteering at Backpack Buddies, and it's such a blessing to know that we get to be a small part of that, too."