Hollister teenager creates fund-raiser to provide backpacks and
school supplies to local low-income students
Cell phones, driver’s licenses, girlfriends or boyfriends,
finding a cool part-time job
– these are the things many 16-year olds worry about during
summer vacation.
Jacob Oates, however, isn’t the typical 16 year old. The
Hollister teen has spent much of his summer worrying about
backpacks.
Hollister teenager creates fund-raiser to provide backpacks and school supplies to local low-income students
Cell phones, driver’s licenses, girlfriends or boyfriends, finding a cool part-time job – these are the things many 16-year olds worry about during summer vacation.
Jacob Oates, however, isn’t the typical 16 year old. The Hollister teen has spent much of his summer worrying about backpacks.
Oates has created “FEED the FLAME,” a local fund-raiser which provides backpacks and school supplies to low-income students in the Hollister School District. The fund-raiser is now in its second year, and has already provided approximately 60 Hollister students with packs filled with the supplies needed for a successful school year.
“It makes me feel good, and I feel like I’ve made a difference,” Oates said. “I kind of want to be able to change things. If things always stay the same, we can’t grow. I want to be able to help make better things happen in life.”
Oates started “FEED the FLAME” [the acronyms stand for “Fueling Every Educational Dream” and “Future Leaders Are Made Early”] last summer to fulfill a requirement for a national leadership conference he hoped to attend. He came up with the idea to buy backpacks and school supplies and give them away to students whose families could not afford to buy the items for them. He set a goal of filling 50 backpacks, and then went to R.O. Hardin School and received an okay from Principal Linda Smith to move forward with his plan.
“I went to Hardin, and it’s near my home,” he said. “I noticed that they were in need of supplies, so I decided a backpack drive would be a good project.”
He then went to Kmart on Tres Pinos Road and spoke to the store’s manager, Tony Gutierrez, about setting up a booth in front of the store to solicit donations. Gutierrez agreed, and Oates, with help from his family, managed to collect enough supplies and money to pass his goal by 10 additional packs.
“Last year’s fund-raiser was successful on so many levels,” said Oates, who last year was elected the San Benito High School junior class president for the 2007-08 school year. “This year I’m hoping to collect enough for 100 backpacks, so I’ve started a little earlier.”
Oates has spent four days in front of Kmart, accepting donations, and has already received three backpacks, four bags of various supplies and $150 in cash. He will continue the fundraiser through Aug. 17, the last Friday before school is scheduled to start for HSD students, and his donation site is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
The fund-raiser has become a family affair – his brother, Dane, often sits with Jacob in front of Kmart, and his father, Matthew, drives the family out to the store and sets up a large bulletin board explaining the “FEED the FLAME” project. Mom Roselyn helps to fill the backpacks and goes with her son when he hands out the packs. This week, while the family is on vacation, Jacob’s grandfather is helping by manning the donation site.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Roselyn said. “It has been very exciting.”
“FEED the FLAME” began as a requirement for a People to People leadership conference Oates wanted to attend. His name was submitted for inclusion to the conference by Jack Bachofer, Oates’ former math instructor from Rancho San Justo Middle School.
“It was great. It was held at Stanford University, and people from all around the world attended,” Oates said. “I met a lot of people, and speaking to people from different backgrounds was a great thing.”
During the conference, Oates learned a variety of leadership techniques, including presentation, oral speaking, how to earn success in school and in life and even received tips on taking different college entrance exams.
Even though he did not have to continue “FEED the FLAME,” Oates said he chose to, not just because he sees the need, but because it makes him feel good to be able to help others.
“Last year it was a requirement, but I saw how much it helped these kids,” he said. “People kept asking me if I was going to do it again, so I thought it would be a good idea to keep it going.”
Oates said he is looking for any donations that will help him reach his goal of 100 backpacks, including new packs, pencils, pens, wide-rule binder paper, erasers, glue sticks, crayons, washable markers, plastic pencil boxes, pencil sharpeners, index cards, highlighters, blunt-tip scissors, binders and rulers. The filled packs will go to students in grades K-5 at R.O. Hardin and Gabilan Hills schools, with Rios determining which families are eligible.
“People here have been so wonderful,” Roselyn said. “There are some really nice people who come by just to give us donations. Last year, there was one woman who scoured the sales, and would continually buy us things. It has been truly wonderful.”
Organizing the fund-raiser has been a “gratifying” experience, Oates said, and one he won’t soon forget.
“I believe in perseverance,” he said. “I tend not to give up when I need to do something. I like to be a part of things. I think we should all try to help others when we get the chance.”
Laurie Lemmerman-Castañeda can be reached at [email protected].
TO HELP
Donations of backpacks, school supplies and cash will be accepted by FEED the FLAME Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at its site in front of Kmart. Donations of goods can only be accepted during the above hours. Kmart cannot accept donations inside the store. Monetary donations are welcome and should be sent to Yolanda Rios/FEED Fund, 901 Santa Ana Road, Hollister, 95023. Make checks payable to Yolanda Rios/FEED Fund.
