A total of 207 Oxford and Lake Orion students will head back to school with all the tools they need to succeed thanks to the hard work of Oxford-Orion FISH volunteers and the generosity of local donors.

On Saturday, students, ranging from little ones to teenagers, showed up with adult family members at FISH’s food pantry in Thomas to receive brand new backpacks brimming with an assortment of fresh school supplies, all free of charge.

“This means a lot to me. It means people care about my family and my kids,” said Gabriela, an Oxford resident and mother of three. “They bless me every year with backpacks, so I don’t have to worry about getting (enough) money to buy supplies. I’m really happy.”

FISH volunteers, along with members of the Oxford Middle School robotics team, filled the backpacks with rulers, pencils, pens, pairs of scissors, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, paper, notebooks, folders, erasers, highlighters and three-ring binders.

They stuffed backpacks for 93 elementary students, 58 middle schoolers and 56 high school students.

FISH Board Member Michelle Behm noted it normally takes about six hours to do all the packing, but thanks to the OMS robotics team, they got the job done in about two-and-a-half hours.

“There was a nice big group of them,” she said. “They were, by far, our best group of volunteers.”

All of the backpacks were neatly displayed throughout the FISH pantry. Kids and adults strolled the aisles, choosing exactly what they wanted, just like at a store.

“I love it,” said Chyanne, an Oxford fourth-grader. “My favorite part is I get to pick out my own backpack.”

Nicholas, a Lake Orion middle schooler, agreed. “I think it’s cool I get to pick my own,” he said. “I like this (backpack) because it looks like an army one.”

“Backpacks cost a fortune and these are really nice ones. They’re not cheap ones,” noted Tiffany, an Orion Twp. mother of two.

With all the spacious homes, expensive vehicles, horse farms and fancy subdivisions in the Oxford-Orion area, sometimes it’s easy to forget that not every family has the means to purchase everything on the average student’s back-to-school checklist.

But the reality is there are many low-income, unemployed and disabled folks who struggle on a daily basis to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

That’s why every year, FISH steps up to ensure the children of needy families don’t slip through the cracks and go without when the school bell rings.

“It’s a lifesaver,” said Dana, an Orion Township resident and mother of two. “I’m a single mom and don’t really have much help. I don’t even have a budget. It’s that bad right now. I’m struggling, so this a huge relief.”

“I’m a single mom (with three kids) and I’m disabled, so this really helps,” said Laurie, an Oxford resident.

“I’m not working, so it helps me out a lot,” said Christina, an Orion resident with two school-age children at home. “They take a load off, a big load off. It’s nice that (FISH is) here.”

“It helps me every year. It’s a big load off, financially,” said Nicole, an Orion resident and mother of three.

Behm noted thanks to the Oxford Leader’s July 26 article promoting the backpack drive, there was an incredible outpouring of support, so much so that every single backpack and all of the school supplies were donated.

“We didn’t have to buy a thing, not a single thing,” she said. “This is the first year that has ever happened. It was unbelievable.”

According to Behm, the donors ranged from local businesses to kids looking to help their peers.

“We had little girls show up that had done their own personal collections,” she said. “It was just overwhelming.”

Every child and every adult who walked away with a backpack Saturday expressed their sincere gratitude to FISH.

“God bless them,” Dana said. “They are wonderful people. Every single person in there, they’re beautiful people.”

“We greatly appreciate it. They’re a big helping hand to people in need,” said Jacob, an Oxford resident and father of five.

Since 1973, FISH has been providing free emergency groceries to families, individuals and senior citizens, who are living on low or fixed incomes, or have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness and other personal crises.

Last year, the nonprofit organization distributed a total of 183,287 pounds of food to an average of 165 households (or 382 individuals) per month.

FISH serves the residents of Oxford, Orion and Addison townships along with part of Oakland Township.

In addition to groceries, FISH provides Easter and Thanksgiving dinner baskets and Christmas gifts for children.

“When I really needed help, they were there for me,” said Taylor, an Oxford resident with four children and one more on the way. “I think it’s a really amazing program that helps a lot of people.”