Our HHI Backpack Buddies team supports over 500 children each week in Bluffton, Hilton Head and Jaspar County. When school is in session they provide nutritious bags of food for the weekend when there may not be any food at home. All the work of Backpack Buddies is made possible by volunteers and the generous financial support of our communities.
Backpack Buddies of Hilton Head – Volunteers needed for the 2022-2023 School Year
Backpack Buddies is a vital program that provides food to school children to take home for weekends and school breaks. St Andrew provides BPB services for the Early Childhood Center (ECC) on the Island. Currently we are in need of a few more volunteers for the upcoming year. Please see the descriptions below and contact Carol Ringler at raringler@sbcglobal.net or 916-533-0544 if interested. Carol serves as the Volunteer Scheduler for the St Andrew BPB program.
Drivers:
- Pick up bulk food boxes from HHI Community Church and deliver to St. Andrew. This takes place once a month on a Wednesday. The time commitment depends on when the food is delivered by Sysco to HHICC. Any size SUV, station wagon or truck is needed to transport the boxes to St Andrew. This involves light to medium lifting.
- Drive food bins from St. Andrew to ECC (Early Childhood Center). Unload bins and put in closet in the school. Two cars/drivers transport the bins immediately after the bags have been packed at the church. Usually on a Thursday but might be on a Wednesday depending on the school calendar. Any size SUV, station wagon or truck is needed to transport the bins to ECC. This involves medium lifting.
- Pick up empty bins from ECC and bring back to St. Andrew and place in the closet. This is usually on a Monday but might be on a Tuesday depending on the school calendar. Any size SUV, station wagon or truck is needed to transport the empty bins to St Andrew. This involves light lifting.
Fruit/Food packers:
- Fruit packers at ECC– pack fresh fruit in bags with nonperishables at ECC that have already been delivered to the school. You would be scheduled one day a week for an entire month (so 4 or 5 days for the month). The time and day will be decided by the school social worker or counselor.
- Food packers at SABTS– Help once a month, usually on a Thursday, bagging the bulk food into individual grocery bags that will be delivered to ECC and distributed to the students.
*All volunteer positions are usually scheduled for every other month based on the number of volunteers and availability. Thank you for considering volunteering for Backpack Buddies!