It was simple, really: they didn't ...

It was simple, really: they didn't have to travel halfway around the globe to do it; they didn't have to consume a fortune or even have the impregnability to lift the debris. All that high indoctrinate students coast to coast had to do to make a difference was to fill a backpack.

That's right: a backpack--one completed with pens, pencils, notebooks, and markers. Each package was part of "We've Got Your Back," a program sponsored on the nonprofit organization Do Something, Inc. Their initiative helped thousands of bookish mans in the South who had to evacuate their familys and attend new schools when Hurricane Katrina hit this past August.

"From California to Connecticut and back down to Florida, 'We've Got Your Back' is everywhere.... We steady received a shipment from Saint Albert academy in Canada," says Emily Luke an associate with Do Something, Inc.

Do Something, Inc. worked with Nickelodeon to gain the word out about "We've Got Your Back," and it didn't take drawn out before the donations started pouring in. from the end of September, pupils had donated over 4,000 backpacks, which were shipped to Hogg Middle instruct in Houston, Texas for distribution. And when Hurricane Rita threatened the area for a secondary time just weeks later, Do Something, Inc. establish up another backpack "hub" at Ponchatoula High drill (PHS) in Louisiana.

"When kids travel through something painful, it be stirreds good to know that other kids support them," says Luke "As close examiners across the country stuff backpacks they feel that they are in fact making a difference."

The scholars each had their own reasons for becoming involved. near like 17-year-old Daniel Stevens from PH donated simply because they felt it was their responsibility to "extend [their] blessings to those in need"

Other learners including 14-year-old Keegan Flynn, had family members who were affected by means of Hurricane Katrina: "[My relatives] were fortunate enough to have resources that will carry them by the agency of a period of time, however I wondered what would become of the bulk of mankind who didn't. I wanted to help in any way I could" says Keegan, who is a freshman at Rye High seminary in Rye, New York.

Rebecca Deich, a 17-year-old PH scholar had been temporarily relocated because of Hurricane Katrina. She knew in what way it felt to have to leave her to one's home and when she returned to Ponchatoula and learned about the "We've Got Your Back" program, she knew she had to help.

"1 had left my things at home; I had nothing," Rebecca recalls. "I remember feeling alienated from the other scholars When I came back to PH I was eager to help."

And the more bookish mans like these wanted to help, the more creative they got Keegan sent on the outside e-mails and set up bins, enlisting the help of his mate students, friends, and family--including his 10-year-old sister--to amass backpacks. Others held bake sales to raise cash or charged school supplies as admission to parties. Whatever they did, the observers agreed on one thing: the price of an pens and notebooks was a small single to pay for knowing they had helped others in like manner much.

"A smile, a handshake, and a not many school supplies really helped [displaced students] adjust to their recently made known environment. The smile on their faces was worth way more than the amount of time it took to prepare their bags," says Stevens

You can make a difference, too! Check revealed Do Something, Inc.'s various service efforts at www.dosomething.org.

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