With just four days until the school year commences, families across the Hunter and wider state have been busily preparing their children for another year of learning.
For some families, the start of the school year signals the opening of an exciting chapter and new beginnings.
However, for other families, it acts as a reminder of continued hardship and the need to overcome further adversity.
This year, local Hunter initiatives have emerged that share the same goal; they’re on a mission to ensure rural and regional children start their school year on an equal playing field, free from socio-economic constraints and other forces of inequality.
The Backpack Venture is among these initiatives, and was conceived by two local Port Stephen’s mums, Catherine Woodbine and her friend Alison, after the women discovered greater incidences of inequity across regional school populations and an inability for families to access assistance.
“We’ve found a lack of help in regional areas so what we want to do is ensure kids in those areas have what they need to return to school.”
“In the Newcastle and Port Stephens areas there are places that families can go for help, but in these smaller regional towns there’s no help at all so that’s why we want to tap into those areas.”
The volunteer-run initiative collects donations from across the Hunter and delivers them to rural schools who have registered their interest for resources.
A raft of supplies, including backpacks, drink bottles, lunch boxes, colouring pencils, exercise books and calculators, are then distributed to the entire school.
“The backpacks are about building confidence on day one because children have what they need to start the year the same as every other child in their school.
In it’s first year, the Backpack Venture is supporting schools in Denman, Casillis, Broke, Sandy Hollow, Greenlands, Milbrodale, Ulan and in Lower Belford, as well as daycare and preschools across the region.
“Some of these kids turn up with nothing and others turn up with their belongings in a plastic bag, so they stand out for all the wrong reasons.”
“We want them to start the new year with everything the need for a confident, exciting, happy year of learning. That’s what it’s about.”
“We’re also hoping that when children have what they need it increases the attendance rate as well.”
Woodbine said the women had been blown away by the support of residents and businesses across the Hunter.
“This is our first year so we kept [the drive] small because we didn’t know how well we would be supported … but the support from our community has been amazing.”
Initially, the women appealed for 400 backpacks, although after attracting the attention of local residents on social media, they have far exceeded that number.
So far, 494 backpacks that include stationary, lunch boxes & drink bottles have been donated.
A range of books have also been supplied, which The Backpack Venture believes will provide a wider range of choices in school libraries to encourage more borrowing and reading.
Woodbine said their target for emergency menstrual kits for girls had also been smashed, and revealed that while their initial goal was 285, the number has grown to 750, as well as 380 pairs of underwear.
The co-founder said the emergency period kits will be made available to female students via the office during school hours, providing relief to many girls at school.
“For all the backpacks and emergency kits we have left 0ver we’re going to filter out in our local community as well”, she promised.
An effort spanning an entire community
The Backpack Venture campaign has relied on a network of community volunteers and commercial partners, as well as local police.
Woodbine revealed that 12 volunteers, including the founders children, have been involved in operations across the Hunter and Port Stephens areas.
For Hunter locals who wanted to contribute but who were inhibited by time or distance, The Backpack ventured partnered with local department stores to offer click and collect options, as well as charity bins.
Other local businesses and organisations offered to act as drop off locations for residents willing to donate, including State Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery’s office.
The initiative garnered further support from health staff at Singleton Emergency Department, who amassed more supplies for schoolchildren in need.
After picking up the multitude of donations from separate locations, Woodbine plans for volunteers to deliver the backpacks to school principals today, and have arranged for police officers to attend each school and hand the backpacks to the children on their return to school.
“It’s about building relationships between the police and children, and building a trust which is important for these rural areas.”
Lifeguard Maxi from Live Learn Survive and more notably, television show Bondi Rescue, will also be accompanying the group today to make deliveries of his water safety books to schools.
Woodbine said he has been a major sponsor, donating 260 books to the cause.
“A lot of kids from country areas have never been to the beach and are swimming in rivers and stuff like that, so it’s important to get these books out to raise awareness of the hazards in waterways.”
One of several initiatives operating locally, The Backpack Venture is not alone in offering school resources and backpacks as a concept to minimise socio-economic divides in the classroom.
The local branch of national not-for-profit Friends with Dignity has also undertaken a Back to School backpack drive, amassing an additional 475 backpacks for schoolchildren affected by domestic violence.
Both Drives credited social media and the role it has played in granting their initiatives greater exposure.
“95 per cent is due to social media. It has been huge. We’ve only got Facebook and a majority of people have found us there”, said co- founder of the Backpack Venture Woodbine.
After a local school “desperate for help” reached out to her requesting an additional 60 backpacks, Woodbine turned to her followers on social media platform Facebook to deliver.
“After I put a call out on Facebook, we had the backpacks and supplies donated within 24 hours.”
She labelled the response as “insane”, claiming “we wouldn’t have this without social media, I am sure of that.”
No child left behind
Woodbine said The Backpack Venture was conceived from a growing necessity to provide assistance to families in need, while not discriminating.
The co- founder has previously volunteered with other local charities supporting school children in specific adverse situations, however she aspired to distribute supplies to a wider range of children, instead of individuals affected by separate struggles exclusively.
“That’s sort of where The Backpack Venture came from – I thought I can give to every child and not discriminate.”
Her belief forms a key tenet of The Backpack Venture’s work- in “not just choosing kids that are disadvantaged in some way, but choosing all kids.”
“People say to me that what I’m doing is amazing and that I’m a wonderful person. I’m not, I’m just a mum who sees a need.”
For local residents interested in supporting the Backpack Venture, co- founder Woodbine said that major sponsor Survivor’s R Us in Cardiff will accept donations on behalf of initiative at anytime throughout the year.
Maia O’Connor