Diane Schubarth, who has been volunteering for the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area in Farmington for over ten years, fetched new backpacks for parents as they streamed in for the organization’s annual Packs for Progress. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON — The United Way of the Tri-Valley Area’s (UWTVA) office perimeter was lined with children’s books, art supplies, socks and underwear all ready to be stuffed into new backpacks for the annual Packs for Progress on Monday, August 24.

Parents of students in greater Franklin County could either register ahead of time online or sign-up on pick-up day at the UWTVA office in Farmington to receive free school supplies and a new backpack for their children.

Community Resource Coordinator Nichole Ernest greeted familiar faces as she checked people in and directed them to the donated supplies.

“We had planned on doing 700 backpacks. Last year we did 614 and this year, right so far, we have applications for 420,” Ernest said in a phone interview last week. “So I think that some of that is people for a really long time weren’t sure what was going to happen with school. A lot of schools decided just recently how they were returning and so I expect to have more walk-in people this year than normal, and we have supplies to handle that so hopefully we’re able to accommodate everybody.”

Among parents gathering supplies were also case managers. They were filling large cardboard boxes with donated items to distribute to the multiple families that they assist.

“Even if I have one kiddo, I can get backpacks and supplies for the whole family,” Mindy Thomas said, who is a case manager at The Children’s Center in Farmington and Skowhegan.

Thomas also works in Somerset County and said that she is able to distribute supplies to children outside of UWTVA’s service area and to families that may lack a means of transportation to the Farmington office.

Ernest typically contacts schools which then connect her with case managers such as Thomas and guidance counselors that refer families in need to the Packs for Progress program.

Donations for the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area’s Packs for Progress included new books from Dr. Susy Sanders of the Morning Bridge Center in Phillips and used books from Twice Sold Tales in Farmington. Other donated items included socks and underwear made available by the Western Maine Underwearness Project. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

“It was obviously difficult to work closely with the schools this year because they ended so early, but a lot of them were still in touch with students even after the schools closed, obviously, so we were able to do that,” Ernest said.

Two parents who were collecting items for their children, which included an ice-cream cone patterned backpack, said they received emails directly from Ernest about Packs for Progress. Aside from directly contacting parents, UWTVA also spreads the word about the program through newspaper ads, social media and by word of mouth.

Every year, Ernest said that she meets parents who did not know about Packs for Progress and that she is always looking for more ways to advertise the annual program.

“Of 40,000 people in our coverage area—we have all of Franklin County and then Livermore and Livermore Falls–I can assure you there is not just a need for 420 backpacks,” Ernest said. “And I don’t know if people are maybe homeschooling and don’t need supplies, but our backpacks are available to all homeschoolers as well, and we’ve put that in the language out there about it.”

Supplies that are leftover after the official two pick-up days go into teacher totes and are dropped off at the 17 schools that UWTVA serves throughout the greater Franklin County community.

This year, Ernest said that UWTVA received face masks designed for adolescents and a considerable amount of individual bottles of hand sanitizers. Book donations included used titles from Twice Sold Tales in Farmington, and new titles from Dr. Susy Sanders of the Morning Bridge Center in Phillips and from the organization Literacy Volunteers.

“We’re encouraging people to take several books for their children so they can start to either start building or add to their home library,” Ernest said.

If parents missed the pick-up days for Packs for Progress, UWTVA can still be contacted for school supplies by calling the office in Farmington at (207) 778-5048.