As the days gradually grow shorter, the start of the school year looms near for the kids of the Southeast.
And with the start of the school year, comes Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s annual backpack distribution for applying families.
“It’s been the best to see all the smiling faces,” said Teresa Sarabia, a Tlingit and Haida employee who was handing out lunches to kids that came through. “Some of the babies, their backpacks are bigger than them.”
[(Simulated) great balls of fire: Airport carries out emergency plan exercise]
About 900 kids came through Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Saturday to collect backpacks with supplies to get them started for the school year, said Julie Chapman, the program manager.
“Last year, we did a drive-thru event,” Chapman said. “I got a lot of comments that people liked this better.”
Tables laden with backpacks in different designs sourced from different locations filled the hall, with hundreds still there at the end of the day. Some were bound for other communities, Chapman said, including Craig, Petersburg and Yakutat. Others would remain in Juneau, available on Aug. 5 for families who registered before then.
“It took us about six weeks to stuff all of these,” Chapman said. “It was primarily four of us, with help from other departments.”
Each backpack had school year basics such as paper, notebooks and things to write with. Other grades might have rulers or calculators, depending on the grade level. Chapman estimated that the total cost for the backpacks for the 1,800 families registered ran to around $175,000, funded through a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant.
“Kudos to Julie (Chapman),” Sarabia said. “She does it all. And she’s done it for a long time.”
Personnel working on the project were in Juneau, and, new for this year, in Sitka as well, Chapman said, reflecting a more distanced approach to the work.
“The work doesn’t just have to happen here (in Juneau),” Chapman said.
Staff from across Tlingit and Haida help with the distribution, Sarabia said.
“The staff have been great,” Sarabia said. “I think this is the smoothest it’s ever been.”
Missed out?
Backpacks will be available on a first-come first-serve basis on Aug.5 at the Airport Shopping Center at 9131 Glacier Highway beginning at 10 a.m.
Julie Chapman, program manager for Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s annual backpack distribution, displays the contents of a backpack meant for a fifth-12th grade boy at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on July 23, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
