By Tiffany Williams –
WORCESTER, Mass. — Backpacks filled the tables. School supplies poured in. Community members, local leaders and members of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office gathered Wednesday night with one goal in mind: helping local children head back to school prepared for the year ahead.
Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office hosted the “Backpacks & Bright Futures” backpack and school supply drive Wednesday, August 12, at Off The Rails in Worcester.
The event brought the community together to collect new backpacks and school supplies for local youth. Attendees were encouraged to contribute supplies or make a $25 donation to support the effort.
But Wednesday night’s event was about more than backpacks. It was another example of the community-focused approach Evangelidis has worked to establish within the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office.
Since becoming sheriff, Evangelidis has made community engagement a visible part of the office’s work throughout Worcester County. That presence has extended beyond traditional law enforcement and corrections and into programs aimed at helping families, veterans, nonprofit organizations and some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
One of the most visible examples can be found at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction, where an 18-acre farm produces fresh fruits and vegetables. The operation is the largest farm at a correctional facility in Massachusetts.
Rather than keeping that harvest within the walls of the facility, fresh produce grown there is donated to veterans shelters and nonprofit organizations throughout Worcester County, putting locally grown food into the hands of organizations serving people who need it.
That same community commitment continues when temperatures drop.
The sheriff’s office has annually provided winter coats to shelters and nonprofit organizations, helping those organizations get warm clothing to vulnerable residents during the harsh New England winter.
And the sheriff’s office has worked to maintain a presence at community events across the county.
Just last week, on Tuesday, August 4, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office participated in National Night Out, joining residents and community organizations for an event built around strengthening relationships between public safety agencies and the people they serve.
Wednesday night at Off The Rails carried that philosophy into the approaching school year.
Rows of backpacks served as a reminder that something relatively simple can make a meaningful difference for a child preparing to return to the classroom. A backpack, notebooks and other basic supplies can help ensure students walk through the school doors ready to learn.
The event also gave residents an opportunity to participate directly.
Instead of community engagement being limited to speeches or appearances, Backpacks & Bright Futures invited people to become part of the effort themselves by donating the supplies that will eventually reach local children.
Evangelidis addressed those gathered during the event as backpacks lined tables in front of the stage. Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Comfort K9 Milo was also part of the evening, adding another familiar face from the sheriff’s office’s community outreach efforts.
The turnout reflected something Evangelidis has increasingly made part of the identity of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office: corrections and public safety may be at the center of its official responsibilities, but community service does not have to stop at the jailhouse doors.
Whether it is fresh produce reaching a veterans shelter, winter coats reaching people facing the cold, deputies participating in National Night Out or backpacks reaching children before the first day of school, the common thread is an office seeking to remain connected to the communities it serves.
On Wednesday night, that connection could be seen across tables covered with backpacks in Worcester.
Those backpacks will eventually leave the event.
The impact they can have on the children who receive them could last much longer.
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Serenity Jones contributed to this story.