Publish Day - Ink Blog - Sat. Aug. 27

Oops. I forgot to paste my Ink Blog piece in Saturday's paper into the blog. So here it is. It's a timely reminder that as our little people go back to school, some of them are luckier than others. And there's always an opportunity for us to help in some small way.

Here in London, a small group of volunteers did just that, and they've been hugely successful thus far. I hope this entry prompts other good folks in other cities to consider doing the same:

Back to school usually means a new backpack filled with pencils, erasers, notebooks and other hallmarks of childhood.

Except when your family can’t afford it.

Enter Supplies for Students, whose volunteers scrounge the city for school supplies, then bring them back to a Westmount Mall storefront to assemble the bags for needy children at the Thames Valley and London District Catholic school boards.

Principals in each school identify recipients and personally deliver the bags the first week of school. The goal: do it quietly to avoid making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Co-founder Rita Turpie says the group defines life on a shoestring.

“We’re just a little group with no budget,” she says. “Our community support has always been tremendous.”

It may look like a simple backpack, but Turpie says it builds lives.

“This gives children the tools to learn, to build their future, and contribute back to their communities.”

If you’re shopping at Westmount Mall and want to be a hero, drop by the storefront beside the post office. Or e-mail me here. I’ll do anything to see a kid smile.

Your turn: Is there something similar going on in your city? Do you think something like this can snowball beyond our little neck of the woods?