Supplied and ready

Deirdre Newman

When Omar Rangel starts school next month, he will have a new

red-and-black backpack to carry his school supplies in.

Omar, 12, was one of many children from around the county who got

a free backpack Saturday, courtesy of Share Our Selves, an agency

that provides free medical care and assistance to those in need.

The annual backpack giveaway was so popular that families lined

the parking lot of the agency before the event started Saturday

morning. Share Our Selves gives away the backpacks to families that

might not be able to afford them otherwise.

“It saves me a lot of money, especially now that I was laid off,”

said Omar’s mom, Graciela Vanwormer.

The only requirement to receive the backpacks was for parents to

show proof of residency in Orange County. Each family could get up to

two backpacks, although some of the bigger ones were generously

stuffed to provide for more than one child, Program Coordinator

Barbara Pender said.

The backpacks were stuffed with supplies to correlate with various

age groups and were stuffed with essentials like paper, pens and

pencils. Backpacks for older students contained calculators.

Five-hundred backpacks were donated by Hot Topic,a mall-based

chain of retail stores specializing in clothing, accessories, gifts,

and music for teenagers, with headquarters in Southern California.

After receiving the backpacks, some kids shook them to get a hint

of what was inside, others kneeled on the ground and flung them open

to find out and the rest just placed them on their backs, opting to

wait to see what goodies awaited them.

The effort helps level the playing field on the first day of

school, Pender said.

“It helps students get off to a good start of the school year,”

she said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.