Wayland Girl Scout Collects Backpacks for Fresh Air Kids

Backpacks. They come in all colors, shapes and sizes and, for many kids, filling those backpacks with books and school supplies is an integral and exciting part of preparing for another school year.

Nora Wolff, who will be a ninth grader at Wayland High School in September, wants to make sure multiple kids she has never met get to carry backpacks full of school supplies into their classrooms when they return to school in New York City this fall.

Wolff is collecting gently used backpacks that she intends to stock with books and school supplies and then hand out to kids participating in the Fresh Air Fund program this summer.

According to its website, organization dedicated to offering New York City’s disadvantaged children a chance to experience life outside the city.

For several years, Wolff said she has asked her parents about inviting a Fresh Air kid into their home, but scheduling conflicts have made that impossible. Instead, Wolff said she got to know Maryah, the Fresh Air participant who has stayed with John Flaherty and Mary Barker  and who will be returning in August this year.

“Since I’ve been wanting to help the kids for a long time, and I wasn’t able to, I thought this would equivalent to it,” Wolff said. “Also, it’s a fun thing to do.”

Through the backpack project, which is Wolff’s Girl Scout Silver Award project, she hopes to provide as many as 40 kids with backpacks.

But she isn't stopping there.

Wolff also visited area businesses seeking donations for a raffle she is conducting. The money raised by the raffle will go toward purchasing books and school supplies so Wolff can fill the donated backpacks.

The backpacks she collects will go to Fresh Air kids visiting Wayland and a few other surrounding towns, though Wolff said she doesn’t yet know which other towns she’ll visit to drop off the filled backpacks.

“I hope they’ll be happy and think the stuff is cool and they’ll use it for a long time.”

If you have a backpack you’d like to donate, email Wolff at candylover0056@gmail.com to make arrangements for the donation.