- December 4, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
Bradenton resident Paulina Polinye, 6, said she is eager to make new friends and have new adventures when she starts school at Ballard Elementary School. In order to start the school year on a high note, she picked out her very own backpack full of supplies at the Stillpoint Mission backpack event July 28. Eight hundred-and-ten bags were distributed.
“If we can help them get off to a good start on day one and help them feel seen and equal among their peers, I think we set them up for a successful year,” said Joan Novak, a Lakewood Ranch resident and volunteer at Stillpoint Mission.
Novak is a retired school teacher who taught for 38 years, including 13 at Tara Elementary School. She recalled seeing her students bring supplies in plastic bags and watching their heads drop when they saw other children with backpacks.
“As former teachers, we know what they need,” said Sarasota resident Tina Backhus, who taught at Tara for 25 years. “Giving and sharing what we have is important.”
The bags are split into two categories — bags meant for elementary school aged children and those meant for middle and high school aged children. Backhus was in charge of the elementary bags, while Novak was in charge of the middle and high school bags.
In each backpack were the following items — folders, paper, pencils, glue sticks, colored pencils, crayons, rulers, pencil holders, tissues, pens, erasers and notebooks. For the elementary school bags, they also included a coloring book.
Bealls gift cards worth $35 were also included in the backpacks.
Parrish resident Myya McGriff said the event it helped her family a great deal. Parrish Community High student Monti Davis plans to use his gift card toward a pair of adidas sneakers. Montiono and Montionna Bolden planned to buy new sneaker as well.
Judy Balmer, a Lakewood Ranch resident and leader of the backpack event, said most families they serve have an average of three children in the family.
“It’s cute to watch them,” Balmer said. “It’s a serious shopping extravaganza.”
Bradenton resident Berline Valcius visits Stillpoint Mission every Wednesday for diapers for 3-year-old Bendjina Alexis. Alongside Bendjina and 5-year-old Sandjina Alexis, Valcius went home with three backpacks from the event. Although Bendjiina is too young to receive her own backpack, she was eager to wear one meant for her 10-year-old brother Oliver Valcius.
“It makes an impact and it’s joyful for the kids,” Valcius said. “It’s exciting going back to school.”
Bradenton resident Tashai Neal received five backpacks for her children.
“It’s a big help,” Neal said. “Some people aren’t that fortunate and we are some of them.”
When the backpack project first began in 2010, the cost was covered by the Stillpoint Mission budget. In 2017, they made the decision to put funds towards other essentials instead like food and clothing.
Balmer was volunteering at the time and brought in backpacks to donate for the project. When she was told the funds weren’t there to continue the event, she took it into her own hands. She reached out to 70 fellow residents for donations and bought and packed the backpacks herself.
“No one gets paid,” Balmer said. “It’s a labor of love.”
Since then, she has added on to the list of donors.This year she raised $13,450 from 42 donors, most of them personal friends of Balmer. Nine of the 42 donors do not live in Manatee County.
For the third year in a row, they have received a grant from Walmart to go towards the purchase of backpacks and supplies
Bealls Florida donated 1,000 backpacks towards the event and 250 were used the day of. Balmer said the rest were given to volunteers to distribute to local schools and churches to give to families in need who may struggle to come to the event, whether it be due to proximity or pride.
“The need is still there and it continues to grow,” Novak said.
