News release
| For immediate release: Mar. 17, 2008 |
For more information: Steve Valandra, Communications,
360-902-7215
|
Homeless children in 6 Washington counties will receive backpacks filled with food, books to aid education
State partners with Feed The Children for delivery of supplies March 18
OLYMPIA – State government is teaming up with the international relief organization Feed The Children to distribute 1,600 backpacks filled with food and books to homeless children in six western Washington counties on March 18.
The backpacks have school supplies, non-perishable food, personal-care items and books. They will be distributed to school districts in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce and Thurston counties, areas hit hard by storms and flooding last December.
Feed The Children will deliver the backpacks to a state-operated warehouse in Tumwater at 9 a.m. March 18. The effort is being coordinated with the Governor’s Office, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of General Administration.
“We believe in the power of education to reduce and reverse the cycle of poverty,” says Larry Jones, president and co-founder of Feed The Children. “Providing homeless school children with school supplies, hygiene items and food help meet immediate physical needs. It also helps secure our long-term hope for these children to excel at school and eventually break free from a life of poverty.”
Homeless Education and Literacy Program, an outreach program of Feed The Children, has partnered with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth to distribute backpacks to children in need. During the 2006-2007 school year, Feed The Children distributed 47,000 backpacks nationwide and plans to double that number in the current school year.
"The backpacks are in addition to the many efforts the state performs to support districts in their service to students in unstable housing,” said Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction. “We are happy to receive the generous contribution from Feed the Children.”
Gov. Chris Gregoire said the delivery of the backpacks is another reminder that residents in the counties hit hardest by the storms still need a helping hand.
“Even though the headlines about the storms are gone, we know that many our fellow citizens, especially children, continue to need help,” Gregoire said. “The backpacks will help many kids who need them the most.”
What: Delivery of 1,600 backpacks for homeless children
When: 9 a.m. March 18
Who: Feed The Children, Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Department of General Administration
Where: State Surplus warehouse at 7511 New Market St.,
Tumwater (at Tumwater Boulevard and New Market Street)
General Administration operates the surplus warehouse in Tumwater. The department also supplies food to low-income Washington citizens under contracts with the federal government. The food is distributed through food banks, meal providers and shelters. The department also manages public works projects, contracting, maintains the state capitol and provides other services to support state government.
About Feed The Children
Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10
largest international charities in the U.S., based on private,
non-government support. Its headquarters is in Oklahoma City. It
delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to
individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to
natural disasters, poverty, famine or war. In fiscal year 2006, Feed
The Children distributed more than 129 million pounds of food and
other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and
internationally, supplementing more than 730,000 meals each day.
Since its founding, the organization has reached out to help those
in need in 118 countries around the globe.
General Administration on the Web:
www.ga.wa.gov
