AASA conference volunteers threw in tortellini, cereal and snack foods at a rapid rate into tote bags that were destined for needy kids across San Diego as part of the AASA’s “Blessings in a Backpack” stuffing event. It took place Friday morning at the association’s National Conference on Education in San Diego.
See a short video of conference volunteers in action.
Sourcewell served as the underwriter of Blessings in a Backpack for the second year.
Volunteers worked rapidly to finish filling bags in less than an hour inside the AASA exhibit hall.
“I’ve filled 25 bags at least,” said Liz Wambeke, manager of business and membership development at Sourcewell.
Wambeke said she started the backpack-stuffing drive after one of her team members mentioned seeing Blessings in a Backpack in another city. “I said, ‘Let’s do it,’” she said.
AASA national conference attendees stuff backpacks in the Exhibit Hall Friday 
AASA national conference attendees stuff backpacks in the Exhibit Hall Friday 
AASA national conference attendees stuff backpacks in the Exhibit Hall Friday
Wambeke reached out to AASA and the Blessings in a Backpack organization, a non-profit based in Louisville, Ky., and now the drive is becoming an annual event. Last year, volunteers at the AASA stuffed 1,000 backpacks with food for children in the Los Angeles area. This year, they are sending just as many kids in the San Diego Unified School District.
About 20 percent of the 125,000 students in San Diego Unified come from families with household incomes below the poverty line.
“Hunger is not specific to just one district,” said volunteer Janica Johnson, who works with the Bank Street Graduate School in New York City, as she took a break from conference sessions in San Diego.
Johnson was just behind another eager volunteer, Ralph Grimm, a retired superintendent now working with the Illinois Association of School Administrators. Grimm quickly threw in cans of food, bags of crackers and other goodies to stuff backpacks at a rapid pace. Just 20 minutes into the effort, he had filled about 50 bags.
Friday's Blessings in a Backpack stuffing event attracted several conference attendees 
Volunteers stuff 1,000 bags for youth in San Diego 
Stuffed backpacks are collected
“I’m here for this now because of the same thing that motivated me to be an educator. I’m helping kids,” Grimm said. “No child should ever go hungry.”
(Emily Gersema is the assistant director of media relations at the University of Southern California.)