By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Managing Editor
Time is running out to contribute to the 15th annual Northern Kentucky Harvest Backpacks & Breakfast event.
Backpacks & Breakfast takes place every year at Goebel Park in Covington, just before Northern Kentucky children go back to school.
Children in kindergarten through grade 12 that live in Boone, Kenton or Campbell counties are eligible to receive the backpacks filled with school supplies at no charge.
Brooke Osburn of Latonia has been getting school supplies for her children for years and said the program has provided much needed assistance to her family.
“I started when my daughter, Donna, was in the fifth grade,” Osburn said. “Somebody told me about it and the first year I got down there people were all the way lined up to the back at Goebel Park. The second year I did the same thing and then after that, I decided to get down there between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. to be the first one in line.”
Osburn has worked part-time at McDonald’s in Latonia for 26 years, but her husband has had a hard time finding a steady job.
“It has helped me a lot, especially when my husband wasn’t working,” Osburn said. “Now he has a full-time job and things are a little better.”
Backpacks & Breakfast is presented by Northern Kentucky Harvest in partnership with Be Concerned, the Brighton Center and the Henry Hosea House. The program relies heavily on donations of school supplies from the public.
Local businesses, including Cove Federal Credit Union, American National University and Commonwealth Orthopaedic have placed donation barrels in offices throughout Northern Kentucky, which will be remain until July 24.
Donations can also be delivered to the non-profit organizations that are partners in the program.
Supplies needed include:
- Markers (8- or 10-packs)
- Colored Pencils
- Crayons (24-pack)
- Highlighters
- Glue sticks (2 pack)
- Bottled glue
- Filler paper (college-ruled)
- Pencil boxes
- Blue, red and black pens
- Pencils
- 1 Subject notebooks
Paul Gottbrath of Be Concerned said the program started in 2001 and for the first few years was called Christmas in July. The first year, 150 backpacks were given away.
“We kept growing until about three years ago, then we kind of leveled off at between 850 and 900 and this year we will have 860,” Gottbrath said. “Most years we run out of backpacks before we run out of families, but the last two years we have had backpacks left over. We give those to the partners and they have no trouble finding people to give them to.”
Be Concerned, located on Washington Street in Covington operates one of the largest free food pantries in the area.
This year Brooke Osburn will stand in line for her granddaughter, Madison, as well as her son Clayton Osburn, a junior at Holmes High School. Donna Osburn is now 22 and is Madison’s mom.
Osburn considered not making the early morning trip to Goebel Park this year because her finances are a little better, but Karen Yates, executive director at the Henry Hosea House, convinced her to come back.
“Her daughter and granddaughter live with her and she doesn’t work full time, so this can supplement what she contributes,” Yates said. “By the time you buy school clothes and shoes and all of the other things kids need, it gets very expensive.”
Hosea House provides food and nourishment for those in need from its location on York Street in Newport.
Yates met Osburn during her morning trips to McDonald’s to buy a diet soda at the drive thru.
“I knew she was having a hard time with her daughter and her son, so I would tell her when the backpacks were being handed out and about all of the other services that were available,” Yates said. “For somebody to go there and get in line for so many years at 4 a.m., just to make sure she gets a backpack, you know it’s needed.”
As schools have required children to bring more supplies at the beginning of the school year, Yates said it has become increasingly difficult on families with limited resources.
“Many of these families get assistance, and some of the things that they are asking for, such as Kleenex and (disinfecting) wipes, can’t be bought with Food Stamps,” Yates said. “If we are able to supply them with the basics, maybe that will be the difference between making it and not making it.”
The participants receive the backpack filled with supplies that match their grade in school, as well as a free breakfast, courtesy of Frisch’s.
“We were looking for a partner to supply food and Frisch’s stepped up,” Gottbrath said. “They have been a great partner.”
The Backpacks & Breakfast event takes place August 15 this year, beginning at 9 a.m.
Participants just need to bring a piece of mail to verify residency in one of the three counties and proof of school-age children, which can be a Social Security or Medical card. The goal is to help as many families as possible, so there are no income restrictions.
“Any of us could be just a paycheck away from being one of the people in line out there,” Yates said.
Collection barrels for the Backpacks & Breakfast drive are in the following locations:
American National University
8095 Connector Drive, Florence
Cove Federal Credit Union
577 Dudley Road, Edgewood
Commonwealth Orthopaedic (3 locations)
560 S. Loop Drive, Edgewood
8726 U.S. Highway 42, Florence
525 Alexandria Pike, Southgate