•Backpack Ministry
What Are We? •

Let No Child Go Hungry!

This ministry provides weekend food for preschool and school aged children who have been identified by school personnel

as in need of nutritious weekend foods.

The number of children varies on a monthly basis,

based on family needs and people moving into or out of the area.

The identity of these children is kept confidential.

Donations

Thank you to the SLV Green Curtain Theater Group for your generous donation to the Backpack! We appreciate all who support the Backpack program. We would like to say a special thank you to Kathy Essex for her generous donation and all who have given to this very needed cause. This includes our monthly donors and volunteers who contributed to feeding 140 children each week.

We would also like to thank Charlotte Talent and the McCormick Chamber of Commerce (www.mccormickchamberofcommerce.org)

for their continued support and the use of the conference room for our monthly board meetings. We are very fortunate to have a community that continues to grow and support each other.

Happy Holidays to All from the

McCormick County Backpack Ministry

Welcome New Board Members

We are happy to have two new board members Alonzo Harrison and Willie Mae Calhoun join us. We are excited for a new year of continued success with the Backpack Ministry. Welcome Alonzo and Willie Mae!

(Pictured above Alonzo in the blue shirt and Willie Mae in the red sweater)

A Special Thank You

A special thank you to this group who makes sure that the backpacks are delivered to the schools every week! We also want to thank the volunteers that pick up the food and pack it each week to get it ready for delivery! It takes dedication and hard work to pack the backpack bags and deliver them to the schools each week! You are a great group of people, we are blessed to have you all!

Happy New Year 2022!

We are thankful for the past years donors, volunteers, board members, and all that have participated in the Backpack Ministry.

All marketing, brochures, and supplies are graciously donated to the backpack ministry. All monies go toward purchasing food for the children.

Upcoming events for Backpack Ministry:
Board Meeting:
January 10, 2023 @ 2:30 pm with guests (Dr. Jaime Hembree, Mr. R.S. Brown of Fox 54, and Ms. Catharine Callaham) at 3:00 pm to discuss 2023 outlook and plans.

New carts donated for the volunteers!

Our volunteers now have 4 new carts to distribute the food to the students at the school and 1 new cart at the GLEAMS center to help load the van. We appreciate our volunteers and the great work that they do! These donated carts will be a great help to the volunteers delivering the food to the classrooms each week. A special thank you to all that made this possible.

We also thank Dr. Hembree for her continued support and her part is getting this done

Backpack Board Members

Roseanne Selby - Chair

Laverne Moss

Connie Tremsky

Janet Dukes

Ray DeShano

Becky Sappenfield

Arthur Banks

Catherine Callaham - School Liaison

School liaisons identify the needs of the children.

Volunteers pick up, pack, and deliver the foods to the schools.

Monetary donors help keep the ministry going.

"It would melt your heart to see how excited and proud these children are to receive their own food bag"

C. Callaham

Grants and Donations

The board members and volunteers thank all who donate to the Backpack Ministry. This program is possible because of the donors and grants that are so generously given. The goal of the Backpack Ministry

"Let No Child Go Hungry"

Pictured is the backpack board members receiving a grant from Tim Haynes representing Blyth Funeral Home of Greenwood.

DONATE

Who Are We?

The McCormick County Backpack Ministry was incorporated in 2015

as a non-profit organization with a 501c tax-exempt status. We have no employees, only volunteers from various organizations and churches who pick up food, pack, load and deliver to the McCormick Schools and Head Start Programs. We have nine (9) Board Members.

Thank you to all of our volunteers that make this possible.

How Do We Function?

We only serve children who have been identified as being in need by school personnel in the McCormick First Steps, Elementary, Middle, High School and Head Start. Each child identified by the school will receive a bag of nutritious children-friendly food for the weekend.

The food bags are distributed weekly and will contain enough food to serve one child per weekend. These food bags are not intended to feed an entire family.

How Does The Program Work?

Each week volunteers pick up the foods from the local Food Lion. These foods are delivered to the GLEAMNS building to be sorted and bagged by our volunteers. The bags are delivered to the schools for distribution to the students in need.

Our Cost:
Due to the requirements and standards that we must go by; we do not accept food donations. Only monetary donations.
It costs $6.00 per child per week. It takes approximately $30/month to feed each child. This cost does vary slightly but this is an average.
We average approximately 133 children each week.
Our yearly goal is $30,000.
We do not have paid employees, only volunteers.

How Are We Funded?

Individuals, organizations, and grants make this mission possible through generous donations, and the volunteers who help pick up, pack,

and deliver backpacks to the schools.

In addition we receive donations from church sponsored events, fundraisers, or they take up special offerings.

Merry Christmas 2021 from McCormick Backpack

The Christmas Parade was a great success and the backpack float got the 1st place award of $300. The float and decorations were provided and donated by Majestic Floor Care. Thank you for all who participated in the festivities of the day.

After the parade we got together for refreshments of cider provided by Roseanne and Dick Selby and wonderful cookies baked by Connie Tramenski.