Vhisper Watkins Jr. hasn't had a new backpack for the first day of school in years.
Not only does the Centennial Middle sixth-grader have a new backpack, it came filled with
folders, a box of colored pencils, notebooks, a ruler, pencils and school books. The back-to-school
supplies came courtesy of Kids 4 Kids, which handed out more than 300 backpacks to underprivileged
kids in South Miami-Dade on Saturday morning. This summer, 6,000 of the backpacks have been given
out throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties, say members of the group, made up of teachers and
students from Jack D. Gordon Elementary. ``This feels good,'' said Vhisper, trying on his new backpack.
Vhisper, his two brothers and sister, and his parents live at the Emergency Housing Center in
Florida City, where about 40 of the backpacks were handed out Saturday morning. ``This helps a whole
lot,'' said Tarsenda Bennet, who also lives at the emergency shelter with her son Franky Jean Francois,
5. ``I'm about to move out of here and don't have the money to buy these things.'' Some of the
Kids 4 Kids volunteers know what that's like.``At one point, my two older daughters and I were
in transition,'' said Patty Weber, a teacher at Gordon Elementary. ``You learn that there is always
someone who has less than you, so I like to give back.'' Kids 4 Kids, which does other projects
throughout the year, such as giving out bags filled with treats on Halloween and Valentine's Day,
is the largest provider of free school supplies, according to the Miami-Dade public school system.
Since 1997, when the group was formed, volunteers have given away 30,000 backpacks, 60,000 new
books and 50,000 holiday toys, nearly all of which are distributed from the trunks of the cars
owned by the volunteers. Each pupil gets a volunteer who helps the child pick out a book bag,
books and supplies, explained Beth Davis, a teacher at Gordon Elementary who started
Kids 4 Kids. ``Then we wish them a nice school year.''
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