St. John’s Church launches third annual backpack project

FALLBROOK – The members of St. John’s Episcopal Church have begun planning to provide 325 children and teens with new, filled backpacks when they return to school in the fall. These young people are from the families registered with the Fallbrook Food Pantry. Many would otherwise be unable to afford this essential learning equipment for the coming school year.

"This is the third annual Backpack Project," said St. John's Outreach chair Mike McCormick. "Our church is small, but the whole community got behind the effort last year with contributions and volunteers. It was a joy to see the kids checking out the contents of their new backpacks at the gift party." Church members filled the packs with pencils, pens, paper, notebooks, folders, a dictionary, and a calculator for the older students, and there was a table spread with new books for them to choose. In addition, every student received a gift certificate from Payless for a new pair of shoes.

The big fundraising event for the project will again be a luau at the church on Saturday, Aug. 1, to which everyone in Fallbrook is invited to come and enjoy Hawaiian food, music, and dancing. Businesses and organizations are also invited to contribute gifts to a silent auction at the luau. "We hope the whole community will mark their calendars right now," said Father Leland Jones, the rector of St. John’s which is located at 434 North Iowa Street.

For more information, contact Mike McCormick at [email protected] or call the church office at (760) 728-2908.