Young Volunteers Do The Smart Thing

Thu., Aug. 22, 1996

Marny Lombard Staff Writer

The first line of the shopping list says it all.

“Pencils, need 2,724; have 5,436; buy 0.”

The back-to-school supplies giveaway, Smart Start, is maturing in its fifth year into a collaboration of Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Girl Scouts and the Valley Center. Girl Scout troop leader Sue Buchanan estimated that about 600 low-income kids would be served.

But early this week, the project looked like near chaos. A room at the Valley Center was headquarters. Shopping carts and tables overflowed Monday with boxes of pens, crayons, backpacks, scissors, rulers, calculators, lunch bags, notebooks, folders. Outside of a factory, it’s hard to think where you’d see so many ballpoint pens thrown into a large carton.

More than 100 Camp Fire kids had stumped for donations two weekends this month.

But six Girl Scouts supplied most of the get-up-and-go to make this year’s project a success. They are BreAnne Buchanan, 16; Alyssa Woods, 16; Sarah Cato, 15; Kim Holten, 15; Julie Cook, 15; and Brita Simonson, 15. Cook is a Gonzaga Prep student; the others attend University High. The six did the project for their Gold Award, equivalent to Boy Scouts’ Eagle Award.

One Monday, they oohed and aahed over unusual pencils or attractive backpacks. “Oh, this is so gnarly,” said Simonson. “You’re not quoting us on this are you?” asked Holten.

And they counted each of the thousands of donations. And counted. By mid-afternoon, totals in hand, they set off for Target. Not every item on the list had that magic zero in the “buy” category. The girls used donations collected from individuals, employee drives and businesses.

On Tuesday, they sorted and packaged supplies. After hours of work, the result was hundreds of paper bags labeled by grade level and stacked in orderly piles.

On Wednesday, the Girl Scouts ran the distribution center. Powered by mid-morning snacks of licorice and pop, the teenagers helped food bank clients and other families who had signed up for the supplies.

Some mothers left the center carrying four or five sacks. Their children pounced on their new treasures out in the Valley Center parking lot - all smiles over the pencil bags and folders.

“I really appreciate what they do. Every little bit helps,” said one mother, explaining that she’s the only one able to work in her family of four.

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