Published: October 24, 2008 12:10 pm      

Celebrating blessings

Backpack program brings pop star, actress Hilary Duff to Children’s Academy in New Albany

What started in New Albany and Louisville four years ago with just two schools has grown into an international program — spreading as far north as Canada, west as California and south as Florida.

That program is Blessings in a Backpack, which sends children home every Friday with a free bag filled with food to last them through the weekend, said The Children’s Academy of New Albany Principal Terri Boutin. On Mondays, students bring back the bag to start the cycle again.

For the past three years, singer and actress Hilary Duff has been involved, sponsoring a school in Los Angeles and speaking at events to raise awareness on this issue.

Thursday, she visited with students at The Children’s Academy of New Albany, which was one of the initial schools involved. Even with more than 300 students at the academy, each one brings home a backpack filled with food every weekend, said The Children’s Academy Principal Terri Boutin

“We’re expecting kids to show up to school on Monday and learn and grow with no fuel in their body,” Duff said after talking with the students. “I know how I feel when I haven’t gotten to eat in a few hours or something and I can’t function and I can’t learn and they are so much younger than we are. It’s kind of impossible and they are our future. How can we expect them to learn without fuel?”

At the academy, all the students sat and listened to Duff and the program’s founder, Stan Curtis, of Louisville, talk about Blessings in a Backpack.

The choir also sang two songs, one telling Duff that they appreciate her.

Afterward, she talked to the singers and shook hands with a few of them, including Juwan Long.

“It was good because she touched my hand and I’m never washing it again,” the 10-year-old said, holding his wrist so that his hand would not become contaminated with anything.

Students said they were all excited to meet the former “Lizzie McGuire.”

“She was cute and I watch her on the Disney Channel,” 5-year-old Rayshanea Franklin said.

“Good, because I like the show and I get backpacks from her,” Elliott Quillo, 4, said.

During Duff’s visit, she helped pack this week’s bags along with the normal volunteers, such as Karen Hamilton.

“I was homeless for a couple of months, and I just got moved into the housing authority in March and I know what it’s like to be without,” Hamilton said as to why she volunteers every week. “When we were without, people helped. For a parent to know their child is hungry, that’s the most horrible feeling there is. To know that they are getting just a little something, it makes a parent feel good.”

Theresa Barrett has volunteered since the program started.

“It’s great. It definitely helps us with our food budget,” she said of receiving the bags from her children every week. “I live where most of these families live over in the housing authority and the least I can do is help pack some backpacks and help their kids out.”

Right now the program is in 37 schools in the United States and Canada. Duff said the goal is to expand that number to 60 by January.

“There’s much more need out there,” she said. “We’re trying to raise awareness and get more people involved.”