Hundreds of students get new backpacks, school supplies

MILWAUKEE -- Students at Milwaukee's Thurston Elementary School were all smiles and shared a lot of 'thank yous' on Thursday, September 27th. They're the recipients of the Backpack Buddies program -- a partnership between Feeding America, Sendik's Food Market and FOX6 News.

The Backpack Buddies program provided backpacks for more than 300 kindergarten through third graders at Thurston.

"They can't wait to get their hands on this backpack.  They can't wait to get their hands on the school supplies," Margaret Harris from Sendik's said.

The kids got to choose their favorite colors -- and each backpack was filled with paper, crayons, binders and rulers.

"Our goal here is to ensure these kids have a good experience and become successful adults with a successful job when they grow up," Bonnie Bellehumeur of Feeding America said.

That success starts in the classroom.

"It's a wonderful thing to come together and do something great in our community. Today, we did something great," MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said.

MPS will deliver 200 other backpacks to students in need throughout the district. 2,000 backpacks are given to students throughout southeastern Wisconsin every year.

"It's good to know people can have stuff like this so they don't slack in school," third-grader Cartier Lewis said.