Alumni fill 200 backpacks to help Gulf Coast children

November 8, 2005--As part of the Tufts University Alumni Association's (TUAA) goal to incorporate active citizenship work into their programming, council members rolled up their sleeves and filled backpacks with school supplies for the young victims of Hurricane Katrina at the fall council meeting on October 16.

Alumni and Office of Alumni Relations staff formed assembly lines to fill more than 200 backpacks with crayons, pencils, notebooks, calculators, and toiletries. Judy Sands, J57, and her husband Ben Sands, E54, helped organize the project and were very pleased with the response.

"We had great support from our TUAA members including Marilyn Blumsack, J79, G82, director of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, who recruited participants from Brookhaven at Lexington, a continuing care retirement community, to help jumpstart the effort," said Sands. "In the end, we far exceeded our goal for the number of backpacks we sent to the gulf region."

Cradles to Crayons shipped the filled backpacks directly to those in need. This organization, founded by Barbara Clarke, J88, is committed to providing everyday supplies to poor and homeless children.

TUAA President Ann Palmieri, J78, hopes the success of this project will inspire the model for future efforts. The Citizenship and Public Service Awards committee and the Regional Programs committee are partnering with the University College of Citizenship and Public Service to implement active citizenship projects at every council meeting.