Starfish Pack program

Starfish packs

LOCAL ROTARY CLUB PROGRAM GIVES BACK By Jennifer McKinnon

If you think about what you do within a typical week, it probably involves work, maybe kids, school, activities, grocery shopping and making dinner. A Rotarian’s week is a little different. Aside from their weekly meetings with guest speakers, planning projects and looking for ways to support needs within the Tri-Cities, each Friday, you’ll find them busy filling backpacks.

In partnership with local schools and other community groups and volunteers, Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise and Port Coquitlam Centennial organize and prepare backpacks of food for students identified as being in need to help feed them and their families over the weekend. The Starfish Pack Program was started by the Rotary Clubs in Abbotsford in 2013 in response to stories from teachers of students arriving to school hungry. The growing program currently operates in 20 communities, serving approximately 150 schools and more than 1,600 students.

The Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise has been involved with the Starfish Pack Program since April 2014, beginning with a pilot program at one local elementary school. They now support four Coquitlam elementary schools, helping feed 38 students and their families.

“It truly is a community partnership,” says Jason Jakubek, Rotarian of Coquitlam Sunrise. “Save-On Foods at Pinetree has been our food provider since the beginning and continues to fill our menu, designed by the Abbotsford Food Bank with input from local nutritionists. Volunteers, including our members from the Coquitlam Sunrise Club, a packing team from Resonate Church that manages two schools and a volunteer team at one of the elementary schools, pick up the backpacks at the schools on Wednesday and the food from Save-On Foods and fill the backpacks.” There is no cost to the families participating. The program is supported through the generosity of local donors and sponsors and third-party fundraisers. All administrative costs are covered by the Rotary Club so 100 per cent of donations and sponsorships go to the purchase of food items and backpacks for the students. Thanks to the pricing offered by Save-On, the annual cost for a backpack for each student for the school year is only $575. n

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