How Jesus is calling our church to buy backpacks this year

I’ll never forget my first day walking into my new classroom, taking over mid-year for a teacher who had resigned in October.  These classes were already established and students had been meeting together in these groups, in this room, since early September.  To prep for my first day, I previewed the situation, walking into a classic mid-century classroom– fluorescent light, stale paper smell, water stains on the drop ceiling.  I noticed that the shelves had some books on them, but mostly were empty.  There were crinkled up balls of paper and some pieces of pencil lead and erasers in the empty spots on the shelves.  The teacher desk was largely empty as well.  I noticed there was no scrap paper, and not really many writing utensils.  I came in the next morning with a tote bag full of crisp yellow pre-sharpened pencils, and boxes of blue BIC pens, thinking I was more than prepared. By 7th period on the first day, every single one was gone.

The need for educational supplies in our city’s public schools is a real one.  Students certainly contribute to the need themselves, but the dearth existed long before they did. At first, I had thought my students were simply ravenous for anything new.  But as the days went on, I realized it wasn’t forgetfulness, it was a tough reality. One girl admitted she hadn’t had her own notebook all year; she was writing her assignments on the backs of worksheets and flyers. A boy quietly told me he couldn’t find a pencil or pen anywhere in his home, and his sister needed it more than he did. Another very kind student hesitated to take a pencil from my desk later because she “didn’t know when [I’d] be able to get more”.

It hits me hard: these students aren’t primarily lacking motivation or intelligence, they’re lacking tools, often emotional and social as well as physical.  This is something we, as a church and a community, are called to change. 

For the past few school years, we have been helping show the love of Jesus by meeting significant needs of teachers and students at RCSD East High, right up the street from our church. This year (in the next week and change, in fact) Browncroft is attempting to meet a requested need of 800 backpacks for their upper school students. Why backpacks instead of pencils, pens, and paper?  The school liaison let us know that students, especially in the chromebook-focused school world of today, severely lack bags to carry their things safely. This leads to forgotten, lost, or damaged chromebooks, as well as lost and purposely forgotten assignments and classroom utensils.  As a former high school teacher and a current adjunct instructor in education at Roberts Wesleyan University, I know that something as simple as providing a backpack to a student will positively affect learning and social development outcomes.

Yes— while Jesus never literally said, “Go ye and buy backpacks,” there are passages where His teaching about serving “the least of these” can naturally be applied to helping our titular neighborhood’s needy students get the tools they need.

Famously, in Matthew 25:35–40, Jesus says:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me,

I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

…The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'”

We would like to invite you to participate in God’s move and help our church gather 800 backpacks for the 800 upper school students in need this year.  We plan to give out the backpacks we are able to gather shortly after Sunday, August 24th– just a little over a week from now!  Click here to contribute to the need or email creative@browncroft.org if you have any questions. Our community thanks you!!