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Family visiting Whistler donates dozens of backpacks filled with school supplies to WCSS

First Look: Forty-eight backpacks are available on a first-come, first-served basis at WCSS building
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GIVING BACK(PACKS) The Raskas family donated 48 backpacks stuffed with school supplies to the Whistler Community Services Society on a recent family reunion in the resort. Photo courtesy of Whistler Community Services Society

The Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) has been gifted dozens of backpacks stuffed with school supplies by a family visiting the community.

“It’s great to see that this was a family that comes from a variety of places in the United States, so they have no ties to Whistler other than they happened to be hosting their family reunion here. Every time they go somewhere they give back in some way,” explained Whistler Food Bank coordinator Sara Jennings. “It’s great to see that community is on people’s minds even if it’s not their community.”

The Raskas approached WCSS during their trip asking how they could help, and, with the school year fast approaching, Jennings thought the time was right to give local families a leg up on school supplies.

“We’ve thought about doing something around school supplies for a while, we’ve just never had any time to put something into place,” Jennings said, noting how WCSS has been focused on relocating to its new Nesters Road facility in recent months. “This was a great start-up and we’ll see what interest it gathers during this run and see if it’s something that families would like to see more of.”

The Raskas family paid for and donated 48 backpacks that are filled with school supplies and snacks. The bags are divided into two categories: Ones for students in kindergarten to Grade 3, and ones for Grades 4 and up. The backpacks are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We understand that some parents will have already sourced their school supplies,” Jennings said, “but what we’re saying is that even if you’ve already got that, if this would benefit you in any way, we’re welcome to hand them out to people who want to use the supplies in their home, people that want the backpack for a different reason, and if they only want a few items, they’re welcome to take a full backpack and share whatever they don’t want with their school.”

The bags are available for pickup from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays at the WCSS building, located at 8000 Nesters Road. Call 604-932-0113 in advance to check if there are backpacks still available.

For more on this story, pick up this Thursday’s issue of Pique Newsmagazine.