We are at the Back-To-School timeframe! A time where some kids are excited for school and others may be dreading it. While some kids dread school because they think their classes are boring, others may dread going back to school because they are missing some of the essentials that they need.
Every year in our community there are hundreds of our students that do not have some of the basic school supplies that are on the shopping lists given by their teachers. For these students, there can be a sense of shame or worthlessness that comes with that.
My friend Dylan Schumacher was one of those students when he was growing up. Now, as an adult with a successful construction company Dylan has started to give back and support students in our community. For the past three years Dylan has recruited friends and other businesses to collect supplies and buy what is still needed to pack backpacks.
That was how Dylan and I met. Three years ago I saw an article in the Times Republican about the goal of filling as many backpacks as possible. I called Dylan up to see how our small church plant could help. 500 backpacks later and we had our first some-what successful backpack drive that we have been able to build on these last few years.
This year our goal was to pack 800 backpacks. We were able to collect supplies from some public donations as well as use donated funds to purchase supplies that were still needed. About 300 of those backpacks were dropped off this last week at schools around town for students to grab at the Back-To-School open houses as needed. The other 500 were given away at Second Chance on Third last weekend. Those 500 backpacks were gone in about an hour.
What we have realized each year is that as fun and amazing as packing 800 backpacks is, it is still just a small portion of the need that is felt in our community. This year we had about 60% of the items needed in each backpack. Next year our goal is to pack 800 bags with 100% of what is on the shopping lists. From there, if we have extra funds, we hope to get to 1000 fully packed backpacks and beyond.
For me, as a pastor of a local church, this is an amazing opportunity to live out the call that we as believers see within the gospel message. Jesus encouraged his disciples that whatever they did for the least of these brothers and sisters of His was done for Jesus Himself. Similarly, James encourages the believers to care for the orphans and widows. Paul was encouraged by the leaders of the early church to take care of the poor, which he said was the very thing he was eager to do.
Helping with this backpack program has been a great way to partner with local businesses and to get our church involved in loving the local community as well as the students of our town. As believers of Jesus, we do not want to just be a group of people who gather together for ourselves. We want to be a group of redeemed people who are sent out into our community to be a faithful presence in Marshalltown as we seek the redemption of all people.
If you want to get involved in helping with things like this I would ask you to jump in. Keep an eye out for supplies on clearance or on sale throughout the year. Grab 100 spiral notebooks or 1000 pencils when you see a good deal. Those numbers may seem extreme, but that is still just a drop in the bucket for the 64,000 individual items we will need for next year.
If you want to donate financially, you can go to mosaicmtown.com, click on “Give” and select the Backpack Supply Drive as the fund to give to. Those funds will go towards purchasing whatever supplies are needed after the public donations are sorted. If we collect more than we need then we will look at packing additional bags or putting those funds towards other needs in our community.
One thing that we are certain of, the need will always continue to be there next year. Let us work together to see more students in our community feel the love of those around them and get the supplies into the hands of our Marshalltown students.
Steve Bensema 
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