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Starfish Backpack Wayne Connorton Rick Lewall introduced Wayne who hails from the Burnaby area but moved on throughout western Canada with stops in Regina and Winnipeg. He returned to the lower mainland settling here in 1984. Retiring from the real estate game he and his wife Barbara spend time with his sons Andy and Dean and the grandchildren. Wayne has involved himself with various agencies; the Vancouver YMCA, Food on the Corner, the Millenium Club and the South Delta Baptist Foundation. On the Rotary level he served as club president and later as an assistant district governor.. Wayne described the Starfish Backpack programme as being unique in that it is an idea without an overarching structure; every local area takes it upon itself to best deal with the needs of hungry students. It originated in Abbotsford seven years ago when a young teacher asked her Rotarian father if anything could be done for the kids she regularly met on Monday morning who had eaten very little on the weekend. From this plea the the idea was created to fill a backpack with food to help carry the family over the weekend. The programme works with the approval of the school board and the agreement of the principal who selects the students. Parents then give their permission and the non-identifying backpacks are filled with nutritionally approved products, sent out on Fridays and returned for re-filling the next week. The cost to provide this service over 35 school weeks is $20 per week per student. Besides the food that is often purchased at a discount the back packs are supplied at a good price by Bentley bags. After providing a series of sample menus Wayne answered a number of questions: - How many kids are participating? 45-50 from 10 schools (Abbotsford has 400) - Is there any fundraising involved? Not here yet but there is presently in North Delta - Are volunteers needed to fill bags? No because of Covid restrictions - Are gift cards used? Not preferable as they charge "tourist" prices - What is our club's involvement? We made a donation of $2000 to the programme - Club's future involvement? Portion of our Shred-a-Thon will go to it - How can an individual contribute? A cheque or direct deposit to S. D. Baptist Church Joan Hansen thanked Wayne for explaining the concept of the programme, the details of its operation and the important part it plays in the lives of some local kids and their families. |
