By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
Is it possible that summer is over and Rim schools are going back into session on Aug 12?
“It is true, so it is backpack giveaway time again,” said Rosemarie Labadie of Crestline Real Estate, who has organized this generous benefit for the community.
School will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 12 in the Rim of the World Unified School District so Labadie is again working with the Lions Club and the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club, assisting parents in getting their children prepared to be good students. Those students who are prepared, and have the right tools, tend to be more confident and better students.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, the annual Dennis Labadie Memorial Backpack Giveaway will distribute backpacks and continue until they run out, at the Crestline Real Estate office at 23750 Knapps Cutoff at the corner of Lake Drive and Old Mill Road, in Crestline.
According to Labadie, this event began 23 years ago, in 2002, when Dennis Labadie, Crestline resident and former owner of The Alpenhorn News, believed that those children who began school on a positive note do better in school. He believed giving out backpacks to those who wanted them was his little way to encourage them to do their best in school. He knew that those who do better in school are more successful in life and he wanted mountain students to grow up and live successful lives.
“My late husband, Dennis, started the backpack giveaway, remembering his childhood, growing up without much money in Detroit,” Rosemarie Labadie said. “Over the years, he bought thousands of backpacks for local students. After he sold the newspaper, my son Dominic and I have continued the giveaway as a memorial to him after his passing. Dennis believed if you give a child the tools they need, they can succeed in school. Please join us on Saturday morning.”
Students are able to choose their own backpacks.
Dennis Labadie also knew, from his own life experiences, that students would be more excited to return to school with a new backpack and with proper school supplies that could enable them to perform better. Over the years, this has proved to be true, as many students have returned the next year to say thanks, saying having a new backpack got them off on the right foot.
Each backpack is fitted, individually, to the child, but will not be empty. The Crestline Lions Club and the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club will fill the backpacks with age-appropriate school supplies, such as pencils or pens, paper, colored pencils or crayons and erasers, as they have done for several years as a community service. Both groups purchase these new supplies out of funds they earn through their fundraisers. This is another opportunity for them to give back to the community, this time to benefit the youngsters of the community.
To receive a backpack, students must attend a school within the boundaries of the Rim of the World Unified School District. Both the parent and the child must attend, so the backpack can be properly sized to the student. All students in a family are eligible to get a backpack, but each child must attend to be fitted properly.
Any community member who would like to assist Labadie with the expense may drop by her Crestline Real Estate office on Lake Drive at the corner of Old Mill Road and Knapps Cutoff, before or after the give-away event.
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