Oneonta teen’s backpack project gave hope during Lent

When 13-year-old Elizabeth Reynolds sat down to decide what to give up for Lent in 2021, the Catholic Oneonta resident decided to instead set out on a community service project to help the city’s hidden homeless population. She wrote a letter to her family and friends outlining her plan – ‘Backpacks for the Homeless’ – and ended up raising $1,000 in short order.

“Instead of giving up my usual, chocolate, gum cheese … you get the idea! … I came up with the idea of providing backpacks for the homeless people in Oneonta,” she wrote.

She told The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta she sat down with her mother, Carolyn Laden, St. James Church, and The Lord’s Table to craft a list of items and a strategy to distribute the backpacks.

“We brainstormed,” she said. “Blankets, adult-sized sweatshirts, socks, hygiene products were all the things that we thought about. I raised the $1,000 and then built my budget around that.”

On a legal pad, the teen priced out a total of two dozen backpacks and the items she thought best to include – everything from hair ties and Chapstick to hair brushes, rain ponchos, deodorant, facemasks, snacks and water, sweatshirts, and a throw blanket.

“I wanted to gear these toward adults,” she said.

The packs complete, she met with The Lord’s Table in Oneonta to meet with people who go there to eat and take shelter. She distributed all 24 packs within two days.

“People told me their stories,” she said. “One woman said she lived under a bridge and that she and the others huddle together for warmth and to look out for each other. One woman opened the backpack and the first thing she did was reach for the hairbrush so she could brush her hair.”

The busy Oneonta Middle School eighth grader, back this year for full-time in-school learning along with the rest of her classmates, faces a schedule this year too filled to take on the full-time backpack preparation work she began a year ago. She said she’s hoping her story will inspire others to take up the challenge this Lent, which began March 2.

Along with her classwork, she was elected one of two leaders for her class’s ‘House’ at OMS, follows a rigorous dance class for Elite Dance Adademy in Oneonta, and is taking on babysitting jobs. She’s thinking of a future that might involve studying to be a pediatrician or a teacher.

“I’m just so proud of her,” said mom Carolyn. “She took on a big task and we’re hoping she helps shine a light on the people here who need assistance.”