Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette About 320 backpacks filled with school supplies were distributed to families in need of school materials on Saturday at the Salvation Army building. These supplies came from donations generated from the Stuff the Bus event in the beginning of August.

HANCOCK — The Copper Country Angel Mission and the Salvation Army lent a hand to families in need of school supplies at the backpack pickup Saturday. Around 320 backpacks filled with items for students from preschool to high school were distributed at the Salvation Army building in downtown Hancock.

The supplies were comprised of collected items from the two groups “Stuff the Bus” event which began earlir this month in which Walmart shoppers bought items on lists and donated them to the around 400 registrants who signed up for the program. These items included typical school supplies such as pens, pencils and notebooks but also other items which are needed such as water bottles and calculators. In total, the program has filled about 400 bags.

Copper Country Angel Mission grant writer Lisa Nelson handled the online registration portion of the program, which she said had to be switched over from paper registration due to the number of applicants doubling last year’s total. She said she will lead the program next year, and explained the online approach made the registration easier for the clients and easier for the groups to sort the items and supplies for the appropriate students.

The contents of each backpack depended on the grade level, with preschoolers receiving five items, kindergarten through second receiving 10 items, fourth and fifth grade receiving 15 items, middle schoolers receiving 23 items and high schoolers receiving 22 items. Some of the supplies which were low in donation numbers, such as calculators, were purchased by monetary donations made to the Copper Country Angel Mission. Nelson said distribution to the 400 registrants would not have been possible without the Salvation Army space and the volunteers who provided assistance.

Items other than school supplies such as water bottles and some clothing items were also distributed to those who requested them. “We’ve also gotten donations of clothes as well, but that was kind of a separate request,” Copper Country Angel Mission volunteer Lois Jambekar said. “But we’ve gotten an incredible bank that put it on their marquee up in Calumet, and so we got a lot of donations that way. The community has done a fantastic job and we couldn’t have done it without the community.”

Jambekar said the distribution shows there is a real need for the program. “A big difference this year is that, in the past, people have been mostly from Houghton and north that have received it. Now that we’re involved with the Salvation Army it includes Baraga and L’Anse which is a lot. There’s real need in all areas, but we knew we really wanted to help people in that area as well,” Jambekar said.

Nelson said this demonstrates it would be wonderful if funds could provided to the local schools. “It would be great if the schools had more money and they could provide a lot of these supplies to the families,” Nelson said. “But unless that changes, we’re going to have to try to pick up the gap. The other thing is we are going to really think ahead to how we can continue to help the community. We have limited resources and I don’t think we’re going to have to turn anybody away this year, but next year if the demand increases, we’re going to have to figure out how do we decide who gets supplies or not?”

Nelson said meetings between Copper Country Angel Mission and the Salvation Army moving forward will determine how to adapt to the program needs and the increasing number of applicants. Some potential changes to the program Nelson would like consider moving forward is limiting items like calculators to one for every couple of years and request those donating backpacks to select plain and gender neutral backpacks so the bag is of a quality condition. She explained cartoon and pop culture backpacks are made with branding in mind, and this does not ensure quality.

In the meantime, Nelson said she is grateful for the community’s contributions for the distribution and said seeing the families receiving their supplies has been rewarding. “It is nice being here today. I haven’t been out on the distribution end before and it is really nice to see the reactions and all. But really, whenever I’m going through this, I’m just thinking, ‘Okay, I’m helping out a family that needs help.’ And really, that’s why I’m doing it. That’s kind of the icing on the cake to actually see it in process,” Nelson said.

The next pickup of supplies occurs at the Copper Country Angel Mission store in Calumet from Wednesday through Saturday. Those still interested in making donations can do so by contacting the Salvation Army or Copper Country Angel Mission. The Salvation Army in Hancock can be reached online at centralusa.salvationarmy.org/hancock or by calling 906-482-3420. Copper Country Angel Mission can be reached online at ccangelmission.org or called at 906-729-6789.