Good money, good money, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
It is time now for community connection right here on K one, the
one you trust. It is eight thirty five. We got a beautiful day
today and now we also have a beautiful topic to talk about too, and
it's packed the backpacks. I know the kids just got out of school,
but it's about the halfway point. They're getting ready to go back. And
we have Carolyn Debbie here with us. First of all, ladies, welcome,
thank you. A little bit about pack the backpacks. This has been
going on for a little bit, hasn't it, Yes, for about almost
twenty years. Wow we wow we how long you been with it? Since
the beginning. I'm the one that kind of helped start it. So well,
very good. We've got a founder here. We also have the president
of Debbie. How you doing. I'm good now. This is great.
We've got a lot going on here, and I also know that even though
it's been going on for a long time, we need new people to kind
of pitch in a little bit. Tell us a little bit about going on.
Well, we've got our we're taking applications now for the backpacks, and
they are our last day will be July fifteenth, which is next Monday.
Okay, So we're doing it at in person at Marymartha at eighteen forty five
West Fourth and AGAFE Mission at five five to five South Cast. These are
for recipients, right. These are for the recipients and they are five family.
And then we also are doing online applications through the fifteenth and that is
from our website packdbackpacks dot org. And we have both available an English and
a Spanish application. So there's a button that says click here if you want
to do English, and click here if you want to do Spanish. Very
good. Now, I understand that over the years the need has kind of
grown. It's not gone away, it's not diminished. Yes, we started
out I think less than five hundred and then we've grown because we went to
the county wide so that and then more people, and the need has grown
too, and the cost of supplies has grown so much. And like she
said, to pack the backpacks with an ass packedthe backpacks. Dot org has
all the information that about applying about other things, and I know we have
a lot of information to give out today. You know, That's that's one
thing I remember as a kid We weren't exactly the country club set, not
by a long shot. But my parents always made sure that when we hit
school we had everything we needed, no matter what. And it took a
lot off, no matter what sometimes in order to get that going, because
they didn't want us to fall behind. And there are some situations, and
I'm very well aware of them, where there's there ain't no no matter what,
they just ain't nothing. And that's kind of where we come in,
isn't it right right? The costs increased last year thirty six percent. Yeah,
and you think, well, you know, a box of crayons only
went up to seventy five cents from fifty cents, But if you're buying three
thousand, that makes a big difference in your budget. It does. And
so we found that the price of the backpack has gone up dramatically to the
point where we are now serving thirty percent of the students in Washington County.
Oh my goodness. Things. And that's what this year. We'd really like
that. We really want to help those that are truly needy. And so
how do we do that? We just basically we take your word for it.
So we really ask those that are just doing us for convenience not to
do that, so we can help the ones that are truly needy, that
really need help that if they had to buy backpacks, the child wouldn't get
new shoes or something like that. So right now I'm seeing the picture vividly,
the child going into school going, gosh, I hope, I hope,
I'm equipped. How do we make sure that we get everything to you
guys that we need in order for these kids to be successful when they walk
in the door. How can we help it with citizens? You can donate
school supplies. We have a bin at at our storage location, which is
the RSUE building at Fourth and Dewey. Can't miss it, Nope. And
the bin is in lobby, so anytime the building's open you can. And
we're always in need of notebook paper, colored pencils, crayons, h markers.
The list just goes. We have about one hundred and twenty five products
in our inventory that the teachers have actually requested. We don't just really neilly
decide what goes in the backpack. Oh, you you go to the experts,
don't you. Yes, Yes, we get the school lists from each
school in the county. Wow, and we put that in a database,
match it up to the child by school, grade and gender. Wow,
and for you know that how good those computers are? It sticks out a
list for every every child. My goodness sakes. Now, do you guys
take a good old fashioned cash? Oh? You bet? Yeah. I
say you had a couple hundred dollars burning in your pocket and you say,
you know what's I'm going to do something stupid with this? I might as
well doing something good nastly. We have two ways that you can do that.
You can you can send a check to us at our post office box
that's twenty thirty one Tuesday Ero three to one in Bartlesville seven four zero zeal
five. Or go to our website that has the address to on it.
But we do have you can click on donate and you can donate with a
credit card on our website. I understand. We've got a fun event where
we can raise a lot of money at HURT And you can also maybe wait
a little bit on the side to that was about the bingo coming up.
Okay, it's going to be on July the twentieth, Saturday night. Saturday
Night Bingo. Where are the decks We're going? It's going to be at
Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, uh huh at eighth and Dewey here in Bartlesville.
It'll be the doors will open it and the games will start at six and
you can pre order, you know, your tickets. I have some hit
with me right now. I take matter of fact, good thing. Miss
Susie ain't right here. She'd probably take all of them. But that's okay.
We'll get s. And so the cost is twelve dollars for a card.
That's it. Yeah, that's it. And you can play more than
one card, which a lot of people do. And so we're going to
have a lot of different games, and we're also going to have a dessert
auction. Sweet. One of our board members is going to make a couple
of cheesecakes and they are like big old cheesecakes. What was the one?
She said, blueberry and lemon. I think okay, well yeah, And
another board member is going to make a pecan pie. How can you say
no? How can you say no? I'm sitting here right now going like,
well, I'll buy a pie, but you know, I'll let mama
play bingo. I'll be okay with this. This is it. This is
a good two for that you got going on here, and we will be
serving food also at the event. Great hot dogs, popcorn, you know,
summer type activity. Good gun and drinks. Well you know, you
get a little dry yelling, go yeah, yes, yes, this is
gonna be great. And it's gonna be at Saint Luke's again. That's gonna
be on the twentieth. Huh, yes, that's coming right up. Now,
do you need packers, If you need volunteers, out to the volunt
many many, many many. Okay, that means we've got to send out
the old signal here, don't Yes, So we are using sign up genius
as a convenient way, and so there's a link on our website and it
says just sign up to help pack and distribute the backpex, please click here.
I thought you got to do. Go to the website and do the
please click here. Right. And so we will start that activity, the
actual packing on Thursday, August first wow and the evening. We like to
be able to involve people that work for a living too, right, So
we're going to do that from six to eighty and that'll be our first time
of actually packing. And then we've got Friday, we have two shifts on
Friday nine to noon and then one thirty to five, and then Saturday morning
we'll do it nine to noon. And that's going to complete all of the
backpacks. Wow, that's a lot of work in a short time. So
it's assembly line. It's really a thing to see now, Carol standing over
the years, that assembly line has just gotten refined to the point where you
know, Henry Ford would scratch his head and say, well, how about
that. That's right, and we have everything organized. We have a person
I'd like to give her a shout out, Kathy Scheltz, that really organizes
all the products and so that you just take the backpack and go down the
line and people put in the correct product in the backpack and then take the
backpack to where we have them lined up. And if we have pictures on
the website, you can see the twenty seven hundred backpacks lined up at Saint
Luke's Mine. I couldn't as sake. That's got to be sa. Somebody's
got to video tape that put it like in fast motion, you know,
and say this is this is our busy V's here. You know, that's
a good idea. One of the best things about this opportunity of packing is
that it is a family friendly event. Of course. You know something that
the kids love to do. They put the backpack on backwards and just walk
down the line and people put things in them and they look. Whole family
can come, right we that's and enjoy it. If the child is under
twelve and under, the parent must accompany the child, right uh there.
But we have lots of them, I mean little ones five year old and
they walk and they get the stuff in the backpacks. Yeah, oh my
gosh, you know right there. You gotta have video the little one just
go. That would just be adorable for your your your website and for your
your Facebook pages. Yes, we do get on that little TikTok thing and
we do have a Facebook page also great, and we have this flyer for
our bingo is on there. Wonderful and every time we need something that gets
on there. I think the website, i mean the Facebook page is the
Washington County School Supply Drive right, yeah, Washington County School Supply Drift name.
Yes, the official names our official name. Yes, we are we
are five on one C three and good standing right, yes, we have
a certificate of good standing from the state of Oklahoma. That's always good to
have, ladies. I want to thank you very much. Is there something
we may have forgotten? I hope they came so prepared that we are actually
distributing the backpacks our Sunday, August the fourth, from two to seven and
Monday, August the fifth from eight thirty am to seven pm. So we
have lot several shifts for that and we're expected to be there pretty much all
the time. Indeed, get there any questions right? Kind of kind of
close because I think school starts with the eighteenth or something like that. Well
most a lot of schools start the fifteenth, but I think some start that
week like the eighth. Oh so yes, yeah, yeah, I think
a couple of them do. Maybe the more important thing is to go to
our website because it has all the information packthe backpacks with thats dot org.
All right, thank you very much. This has been great. I hope
you had fun because I know you guys got to get rested up here because
you got a lot going on between the bingo and the bagging and everything else
and the shopping in between. Yes, good gravy. All right, thank
you for being with us here on k one