ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — As a way to help out families who may be struggling with the tough economic times, Project CARE, a local social services ministry, is organizing a “Fill The Bus” campaign to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to Baldwin County schoolchildren.

Beginning Saturday, July 17 and continuing through Monday, Aug. 2, residents of Baldwin County are encouraged to go out and fill up backpacks with pencils, notebooks, crayons, markers, glue, scissors and various other supplies and drop them in big, yellow “school bus” themed boxes.

Drop-off locations at this point include: First Baptist Church, Robertsdale on Highway 104, Project CARE offices at the old FBC, Robertsdale campus a block west of Highway 59, between Michigan and Wisconsin Streets, Fred’s in Robertsdale and Rite-Aid stores in Fairhope and Gulf Shores. Other locations may be added later, according to Project CARE officials. Supply lists are available at these locations or the FBC Robertsdale office.

This idea was the brainchild of Doris Hasitings, executive director of Project CARE and Ken Whitlow, Project CARE Community Relations director, and born out of the desire to help the children of Baldwin County have an extra good start to the upcoming 2010-11 school year.

“Fill The Bus is designed to help kids who need school supplies. Our main goal is to educate children throughout the county and let them know we care about their needs and help them in any way we can. This is a total community outreach effort.” Hastings said.

This is the first year for the project and its goal is to provide at least 1,000 children with a backpack stuffed to the gills with supplies, Hastings said, but the more children who can benefit, the better. “I would love it if we could provide for 5,000 children.That would be wonderful.”

Jeff Copeland, pastor of First Baptist, Robertsdale, is very excited about hosting the event and is “glad to be able to help out the community in this way.”

It is Hasting’s hope that this project will become a yearly event and encourages everyone in the county to get on board with the project and donate as many supplies as possible. “If people don’t want to shop for supplies, we will be happy to accept monetary donations as well.” Hastings explained.

When the collection period ends, FBC, Robertsdale will host a Distribution Festival on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon in the parking lot. This will be a fun-filled day of free hot dogs, chips, drinks, games, inflatables and activities for the whole family.

Each child that attends this event will be given a backpack filled with supplies and can enjoy food and fun with their family. “There is no criteria for receiving a backpack. It will be on a first-come, first-serve basis and every child will receive one until we run out.” said Whitlow.

“There are lots of needs out there because of the tough times we are all facing, especially for families, and this is our small way of helping out. We want our children to know they are loved and their families cared for. We want to work together to bring hope and help to the families of our community.” Whitlow commented.

This project is county-wide and not just limited to central Baldwin. “Any child in the county who needs a backpack and supplies is welcome to come to the event. We want to see as many children from all over the county as possible.” Hastings said. In addition, Hastings said they could always find a place for those who want to volunteer their time in helping with the festival and distribution of backpacks.

Project CARE was started as a way to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and three years later, they were still going strong but changed their focus to care for the needs of the community. Catastrophic Aftermath Response Effort makes a concentrated effort to meet the needs of the residents of Baldwin County and is located in the old fellowship hall of First Baptist Church, Robertsdale. The SonshineThrift Store is one of the ways to meet those needs by selling a variety of items at low prices to those who need them, including school uniforms. In addition to the Thrift Store, there is also a food pantry available to those in need.

Children are not the only ones who benefit from Project CARE’s efforts. Hastings said they have a desire to meet the needs of teachers as well. “We know teachers need supplies and last year, we provided cases of hand sanitizer and band-aids as well as other supplies to the classrooms of Baldwin County. If any teachers need supplies, we encourage them to contact us and we can provide those things for them.”

For more information about “Fill The Bus” or Project CARE, contact Doris Hastings or Ken Whitlow at (251) 979-7543 or (251) 947-8856 or (251) 979-1472. For monetary donations, mail to : Project CARE, P.O. Box 1140, Robertsdale, AL 36567.