MANKATO CLINIC FOUNDATION

Back to School Project Lightens the Load

By MARIE WOOD

The Back to School Project is a game changer. It allows us to give backpacks and school supplies to kids so that when they walk in the building, they have the same things the other kids have. They have their own school supplies. No one knows if the backpack came from this program or if parents purchased it for them. It’s one of those burdens we can lift from families. It’s so great to see the generosity of the community.

— Principal Doreen Oelke South Elementary, Saint Peter

The Friends of Learning Back to School Project serves families in public and private schools in Saint Peter and rural Nicollet County. Now in its 10th year of providing backpacks filled with school supplies, the program served about 600 students this year. For each student to receive a sturdy backpack filled with school supplies, the cost is $60 per student, $36,000 total.

“I think back to what it was like when I was going back to school and the excitement of having all those new supplies. It’s one less barrier that the child has to overcome in going back to school,” Michelle Zehnder Fischer, said.

Backpacks are filled with the school supplies needed for each grade; kindergartners receive different supplies than third graders. This program removes the stigma and anxiety of going to school without new crayons and folders. Kids start the year with the tools they need to learn.

Michelle Zehnder Fischer, Nicollet County Attorney, is a St. Peter Lions Club member. The service project is in collaboration with St. Peter Lions Club, Nicollet County Health and Human Services, The Salvation Army, and Friends of the Saint Peter Library.

The Saint Peter Football Team brings the muscle to help fill backpacks and set up workstations with pounds of notebooks, paper, crayons, glue sticks and more!

“Education is so important for our children. We know that kids who are receiving an education and are able to connect in school do so much better as they grow and develop into adults,” she said.

Over the years, the need has grown from 372 students served in 2012 to about 600 students today.

Friends of Learning is a collaborative group who lead the Back to School Project. Friends of Learning includes Jeff Owen, Michelle Zehnder Fischer, Nicole Goettl, Dean Wahlund and Chanelle Braekkan. All members are not pictured.

“The community has always stepped up to meet the need in supplies and financial support. Our area businesses have always been very generous in contributing funds and now we’ve been asking for more volunteers to help with the stuffing and filling event. It takes a lot to fill 600 backpacks!” she said.

Every August, backpacks are filled at Johnson Hall on the Nicollet County Fairgrounds where parents pick them up.

“Parents don’t have to make difficult choices if they have a limited amount of funds to meet their family’s needs,” Zehnder Fischer explained.

The Back To School Project also supports teachers who would otherwise spend their own money to give students supplies.

A longtime supporter, the Mankato Clinic Foundation awarded a $3,000 grant to the Back to School Project 2022-23. ■