By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
When students at John Muir Elementary in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood returned to school in September, they were greeted with a pleasant surprise — brand new backpacks filled with school supplies for every kid, provided by congregants at Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
The backpack collection project was conceived of by Rabbi Alan Cook and coordinated by Cook’s wife Jody and De Hirsch members Kim Fuqua Alben and Gayle Carrol, with the help of John Muir principal Awnie Thompson. Cook said that prior to coming to Seattle, he had worked for a congregation in Denver, Colo. that had done a similar project with a school there.
“It was a great way of building community in Denver, and we had been looking for something similar to do here in Seattle,” Cook said.
The idea to partner with John Muir Elementary was suggested by a former Muir teacher who is also a member of Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
According to Cook, congregants were asked to actually purchase the backpacks and school supplies themselves, rather than just making a monetary donation to the school. That way, the project would feel more personal for both the kids and the volunteers.
“We wanted to make it as hands-on a project as possible,” Cook said. “This project really captured the imagination of a segment of our congregation who have not participated in social action before.”
Through the efforts of their members, Temple De Hirsch Sinai collected close to 400 backpacks, which they filled with pencils, glue sticks, markers, and erasers.
According to principal Thompson, she and the Temple De Hirsch Sinai organizers discussed a variety of ways the synagogue could help the school before they finally settled on the backpack project.
“We probably brainstormed 20 different ideas, some of the others of which we may do together later in the year,” Thompson said.
But with school just beginning, the need for every kid to start off on the same page with basic supplies seemed the most pressing.
More than 60 percent of students at John Muir Elementary qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches.
“Anything they don’t have to buy helps,” Thompson said. “We always have kids who come to school without backpacks and essential supplies.”
In the past, she added, teachers have picked up the slack and provided supplies for students in need. This year, that wasn’t necessary.
Thompson said that the kids were thrilled to receive the backpacks, each of which came with a personalized note to its intended student, and they were surprised to learn that people whom they had never met cared about their education.
“They were so excited,” she said of the students. “Not only did they think it was so cool, they were so amazed. They were all asking, ‘Why did they want to do this for me? They don’t even know me.’”
To say thank you, students wrote letters and took classroom photos to send to Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
Temple De Hirsch Sinai plans to continue its partnership with John Muir Elementary. In November, a group of De Hirsch congregants will paint the walls in a number of the school’s classrooms. There has also been talk of De Hirsch members volunteering to tutor John Muir students or to act as chaperones for field trips as the school year progresses.